


Future's looking golden bright

by Xenya



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Blushing, Chest Hair, F/M, Fanservice, Fanservice with plot, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Teasing, for a reason you wouldn't suspect, older Claude in academy clothes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:20:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23838229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xenya/pseuds/Xenya
Summary: "Claude?""It's me. But you hadn't recognized me, right? How do I look, Teach?"Byleth hesitated."Like yourself," she finally said. "But older."-----Eighteen-year-old Claude is unexpectedly changed into a thirty-year-old version of himself.Instead of worrying, why not use the situation to get to know his teacher better?
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth & Claude von Riegan, My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 57
Kudos: 231
Collections: The Golden Gifts - Claudeleth Fic/Art Exchange





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The fanfic written for Teru (@ladygagarin on twitter) for the [Claudeleth Gift Exchange](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/TheGoldenGifts). It's full of naked hairy chests and blushes! I had a lot of fun writing this! I hope you like it!

Byleth was still not used to the underground place beneath the monastery. Visiting Abyss was a little weird for her, but if she wanted to exchange a word with the Ashen Wolves, she needed to get rid of her discomfort.

While she was passing next to the Abyss's library, a noise reached her ears. Someone was inside. Expecting Constance or some other mage, she entered the room. For a moment she couldn't locate the source of the sound until her gaze stopped at a book lying at the bottom of the stairs. She raised her head and her eyes met with the little panicking ones of Claude von Riegan. The leader of the house she was teaching was standing on the higher floor, carrying a bunch of thick books.

"Haha… caught." He laughed awkwardly.

"Are regular students allowed to be here?" Byleth crossed arms over her chest.

Claude started moving towards her, carefully keeping the books in his arms.

"I dunno. Probably not. But you won’t report me, right, Teach?" He winked at her.

Byleth only hummed in response. It wasn’t something worthy of reporting.

"What are you looking for?" she asked after he’d approached.

"Nothing specific, but I can't deny that most of my picks are about poisons." Claude was satisfied with that. "However, they have all kinds of books here. From spells of black magic and unknown history, through romances to silly ones - like this one!" He moved the books to one hand, balancing them on his leg to carry the weight. Then he presented the cover of the volume on the top of the stack.

"'The pranksty book of pranks'?" Byleth read aloud, frowning.

"Unbelievable that someone has made a book like this, right? I can't wait to check it out." Claude seemed to be proud of his find.

Byleth sent him an unamused gaze.

"And bully Lorenz with what you'll find here?"

The student gasped theatrically.

"'Bully' is a strong word for what I'm doing. I'm just... teasing him. Hoping he will loosen up his noble ass." Claude sent the professor a charming smile.

Byleth sighed and focused on the volume again. She was a little curious as well about which pranks were worthy of wasting expensive paper and making a book.

Claude must have noticed her gaze because he corrected the book in his hand and slowly opened it with his thumb.

"Let's see what we have here…"

What happened next was so quick, Byleth had a problem recalling it later. First, there was a maniacal laugh that could bring nightmares to even the toughest.

Then there was a scream:

"GROW UP ALREADY!"

Claude disappeared behind the cloud of gray smoke. She heard his short yelp and the noise of books dropping onto the floor.

"Claude?!" Byleth tried to find him, but the smoke was impenetrable.

Coughing answered her. The cough didn't seem to be Claude's. It was someone with a deeper, older voice.

Byleth carefully drew her dagger and waited.

The smoke finally started falling down. The professor after a minute could see the silhouette of someone laying on the ground. It was certain it wasn't Claude.

After another few seconds, she saw the details of that person. It was a man, about thirty years old. He had dark brown, a little waved hair, which was almost reaching his shoulders. He also had a matching medium-length beard. Long eyelashes, green eyes, a straight nose, and slightly exposed lips made a perfect composition on his face. The only thing that didn't fit his handsome appearance was his obvious confusion.

Byleth used his distraction to her advantage and she pointed a dagger at him.

"Who are you? Where is Claude?" she asked in a menacing tone.

The man looked at her, shocked.

"What?" His voice was deep, fitting his age, but there was something weirdly familiar in it. After using it, the man seemed to startle himself. "What happened to me?!" He raised himself up to a sitting position and there was a noise of tearing fabric. That made Byleth notice that the man was wearing Claude's clothes. The coat was stretched by a wide, muscular body. The shirt underneath it couldn't handle the pressure of the muscular body. It had ripped itself exactly in the middle of the front side, exposing hairy skin of the chest. Byleth felt a sudden warmness on her face seeing this.

"My shirt!" The stranger started investigating his body. "What is going on?!"

Byleth looked at his face. These green eyes… she knew them.

"Claude?" she asked hesitantly.

The man gulped, staring at her with a scared gaze.

"It's me. But you hadn't recognized me, right?" He seemed to be afraid of asking. "How do I look, Teach?"

Byleth hesitated. She analyzed the appearance of the man knowing that he was her student. She found more similarities. The same eyes. The same skin tone. The same hair color. It was obviously Claude and she couldn't believe she hadn't realized it earlier.

"Like yourself," she finally said. "But older."

"Oh man… How much older?"

"About… ten years at least." Byleth wasn't sure.

Claude groaned and scratched his chin, now covered with short hair. He immediately retracted his hand like he touched something nasty.

"Uh, a beard?" he said with a tone of disgust.

"I think it suits you," commented Byleth with little thinking.

With a surprise, she saw Claude's cheeks becoming red. It seemed her words took him off guard. However, after a moment he winked at her.

"Is that so? In that case, I’ll keep it." After saying this, his face became more serious. "Anyway…. what happened here?" His hand waved, pointing at his body.

"A curse?" suggested Byleth.

 _"Or a blessing"_ she added in her mind, trying to keep her eyes away from his exposed chest.

Claude placed his hand on his forehead and sighed.

"That's what I thought. The words we heard after I opened the book sounded like a curse."

"So, black magic." Byleth crossed arms over her chest. "We need to consult with someone who has better knowledge about it. And someone who knows about this library," she ended suggestively.

Claude smirked at her.

"I think I know who you mean." He looked at the ground and pointed at something with his head. "Aaand... we should take it with us to investigate, right?"

"The pranksty book of pranks" was lying on the ground between the books about poisons. It looked innocent and harmless, but Byleth shivered after remembering the crazy laughter from earlier.

"Yes, but don't touch it directly." She reached for her coat to wrap the book, but Claude stopped her.

"Wait, Teach. This shirt is now a rag anyway. I can sacrifice it without regret."

Before she could answer, Claude took off his coat and the ruined shirt. It revealed that his body was… in good shape. His chest was wide and covered with dark hair. His arms looked strong but agile. His core was muscular, but not enough to look totally hard. Right above his trousers, there was a path of hair, called by some people "a happy trail".

Byleth again felt a weird warmness on her face. She turned around from Claude to calm herself down.

"Oh… Sorry, Teach. You didn't seem like someone who would be bothered by a naked chest." He seemed to be amused.

"Because I'm not." Byleth realized her actions denied words. She cleared her throat. "At least not by everyone's."

Claude hummed, interested. Something in this vibrating, deep noise was attractive to her.

"In that case, I'm honored," he said in a teasing tone.

Byleth cut out the topic.

"Are you dressed now?" she asked instead.

"As much as it's possible with what I have - yes."

Byleth faced him slowly, not sure what to expect.

Claude was again wearing his characteristic coat, but this time he lacked the yellow shirt underneath. The hairy, wide chest was fully exposed nearly to his navel and the stretched fabric at his waist highlighted the manly silhouette.

"Easy there, Teach! You will eat me with your gaze." Claude laughed a little nervously. Byleth noticed a pink blush on his face. He was as embarrassed as her at that moment. "Like what you're seeing?" he asked teasingly while winking at her.

Byleth's face once again became hot. She didn't know how to react to that.

"Yes," she said finally. Seeing Claude's eyes becoming wider, she added: "A little." She turned her gaze from his face and noticed the book covered by the ripped shirt in his hands. "Shall we go?"

Claude seemed to be too stunned to answer.

***

A characteristic high-pitched laugh filled the Women's Quarters.

"Constance, please. We asked you for discretion." Claude sighed and glanced at the closed door.

He and the blond-haired Ashen Wolf were sitting face-to-face on chairs by one of the desks inside the quarters. Byleth was observing them from one of the beds. Apart from them, the room was empty.

Constance silenced herself, but she was still grinning with amusement.

"Thinking that something so trivial could harm an heir of one of the greatest noble families… it makes me believe the return of my house is in my reach." she giggled while covering her mouth with her favorite fan. Her other hand was hovering above Claude's head, glowing from the magic she was using to investigate him. "That's what happens when outsiders mess with the Abyss. Books in that library possess unknown origins and stories." Constance moved her hand away. "You are lucky that this curse only gave you a few hairs on your face, nothing worse."

Hearing that, Byleth relaxed. She noticed Claude was relieved too.

"So I won’t join the choir invisible?" he asked in a hopeful voice.

Constance giggled.

"Well, at least not because of the curse. It wasn't prepared to harm you. In fact, it could be considered a joke." Her gaze moved to the cover of the book that caused the situation.

Claude sighed with relief.

"May I kindly ask you for your help to break it, Constance? I'll be grateful forever." He smiled at her gallantly.

The blond-haired girl laughed loudly while covering her mouth with the fan.

"An heir of Riegan having a debt of gratitude to me? It sounds like an excellent way to recover my nobility." But after these words, she became more serious. "However, I’m concerned it’s not that easy. Considering the name of the book, we might have to deal with a chain of curses."

Byleth frowned. That didn’t sound good. She looked at Claude’s face, which had become pale.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"That’s obvious. Breaking one curse could activate another one - which might not be as gentle as this one. For example, the next one could wound you or even exterminate you." Constance didn’t seem to be sorry. "The most preferred option at this moment is to wait for this curse to fade away."

Claude gulped.

"And how long would it take?"

"Not too long. Curses based on items last as long as the item has enough magic to keep them. A lot would depend on whether there were other victims beside you, but if not… you should be fine in a few days." Constance scratched her chin.

"A few days?!" Claude repeated in disbelief. "I can’t look like this for a few days!"

"That’s right. What about classes?" spoke Byleth.

The man frowned, looking at her.

"Teach, that’s really the last thing to be worried about…" he murmured.

"But the professor mentioned something important. We can’t let other people know about what happened to you. The cursing of someone with your status would expose Abyss to the world, which we must avoid at any cost." Constance sent him a serious gaze above her fan.

Claude sighed and scratched his beard. He seemed to still be uncomfortable touching it.

"Oh man… so I need to hide..." He murmured under his breath.

Byleth got lost in thought.

_"He could pretend to be someone… with his age, he could be, for example, a mercenary..."_

"Well, the Abyss is the place for people who want to hide from the world," said Constance. "I can arrange a room for you."

The professor sighed. Of course. There was an easier way.

"Something on your mind, Teach?" Claude looked at her.

Byleth shook her head.

"I just started making an overly complicated plan in my head. It included you pretending to be one of my old company from my mercenary times. Constance’s idea is much better." She explained.

Claude’s eyes brightened immediately. He stood up while staring at Byleth with a wide grin.

"This is… a brilliant idea, Teach!" he yelled in an excited voice that didn’t fit his appearance.

"Excuse me?" Constance seemed to be confused.

Byleth wasn’t surprised. She wasn’t sure what was going on herself.

"You know me, Teach. I wouldn’t be able to stay in place for so long, right?" Claude kept smiling. "So, let’s arrange it somehow so I can go outside. I might even go to _classes_." He accented the last words in a suggestive tone.

The professor thought about it. She wanted him to pass the certification for a Wyvern Rider this month, which might be impossible if he missed lessons.

"Okay," she decided. "But you’ll need a convincing fake identity."

"I can’t believe it." Constance shook her head. "Is this even a time to mess around? We're dealing with a curse!"

"But you said it’s harmless." Claude smirked at her. "Aren't you sure of your words, Constance?" he asked in a sweet tone.

The blond-haired girl snorted and waved her fan at her face.

"Obviously, I’m certain. I, Constance von Nuvelle, am never wrong." She made a brief pause. "If you don’t require my help, that’s your decision. Just keep the existence of Abyss a secret." She seemed to be a little resentful.

"Actually, we might need your help." Claude folded his hands pleadingly. "Can you find some clothes for me? I can’t leave Abyss wearing my own."

Constance looked at him, shocked.

"You ask me to provide manly clothes? Like some kind of servant?" she asked in disbelief.

"I’ll be _grateful_." Claude smiled widely.

The girl thought about it for a moment and finally sighed and stood up.

"I will look for something in Balthus's wardrobe. But I don't promise it will be washed." As she said it, she moved towards the door.

"One more thing. Do you have a mirror? I technically haven’t seen myself." Claude scratched the back of his head.

"Naturally. How otherwise I would do my world-class makeup?" Constance opened a drawer of the closet next to the door and took out a small mirror. After passing it, she left the room.

Byleth noticed Claude’s hands a little shaking before he placed the mirror in front of his face.

"Oh wow…" He murmured while turning his head to examine it from all sides. "This is so weird."

The professor only nodded. She couldn’t imagine what it was like to suddenly see an unknown face in the mirror.

The man continued:

"Like… seeing your uncle for the first time or something like that. Damn, why am I so similar to my old man? But also… not bad, I guess?" He looked at Byleth curiously with a slightly embarrassed expression.

The woman cleared her throat.

"Not bad, indeed." She sent him an encouraging smile.

Claude seeing this, turned his face from her like he wanted to hide his reaction. He suddenly stood up.

"A… anyway! Have you noticed that my shirt ripped itself, but my trousers still fit?" He made a few steps and crossed his hands over his chest. It was a sudden change of subject, but Byleth didn’t complain. "I… I mean, I know they’re loose, but shouldn’t they be at least too short? Man, does it mean I won’t grow anymore?" He sounded a little disappointed.

"I think it’s fine. You’re taller than me anyway," she answered with little thought.

Claude’s body tensed up. He slowly turned himself towards her. After seeing his red face, she realized how her words could be interpreted. Her cheeks became warm.

"Oh my, Teach. Does that mean you think I am a good pair for you?" Claude grinned at her teasingly.

The professor looked away, embarrassed. She heard him approaching her and crouching down in front of her. When she moved her eyes towards him, they were on the same height as his.

"That’s great," Claude said softly while smiling at her. "Because I’m thinking the same."

Byleth was stunned for a moment. She moved her gaze from his green irises to his bearded face to his exposed, hairy chest. Then she paid attention to his smile again. It seemed sincere.

Claude’s hand laid on her right shoulder.

"So... don’t grow up anymore, okay, Teach?" He winked at her.

The tension of the moment disappeared, and Byleth for some reason was upset by it. Maybe his looks were attractive to her, but it was still the Claude she knew. Young and eager to joke around.

Before she answered somehow, Constance had returned to the room, holding a bunch of clothes.

"I’ve chosen the ones that didn’t stink too much. You really owe me a great debt of gratitude," she said with disgust in her voice.

***

Byleth frowned, seeing how weirdly Claude was walking by her side in his new clothes.

"I’ll borrow some trousers from my father for you," she said. "At least he is ten centimeters taller than you, not twenty."

Claude laughed in response.

"I don't know if it will make a big difference but thanks, I guess," he winked at her.

The professor peeked in his direction and looked away with warmth on her face. The man noticed her behavior.

"Hey, it’s not my fault that Balthus loves to show his muscles so much!" Claude moved his hand over a linen shirt which had a giant cleavage, reaching nearly his navel.

They were moving out of Abyss after Constance said that the other Wolves would notice her prolonged disappearance. Fortunately, they met no one familiar while leaving. Only some people peeked at Claude who didn’t move comfortably in his too long trousers.

After some time of walking, they finally saw daylight in the breach in the wall.

"We need to quickly sneak to my room," said Byleth. She saw a smirk on Claude’s face, so she added: "To establish the details of your fake identity."

"‘Establish details’, right..." He sounded teasing, but she didn’t want to keep the topic.

Instead, she looked through the hole.

"The coast is clear. Let’s go."

They moved slower than she wanted, but no one noticed them. Unless not until they turned towards Byleth’s room.

"There you are, professor!" A cheerful voice called, and Byleth felt her blood freeze.

Of all people, only Seteth would be worse than Hilda. The professor looked at the pink-haired girl, who had already started carefully investigating Claude’s appearance. "And who is this?" The young noble asked the inevitable question.

"Good afternoon, Hilda. A colleague from my mercenary times is visiting me." Byleth tried to keep it simple.

Hilda hummed interestedly while staring at Claude.

Byleth knew he was good at improvisation. She hoped this talent would help them at that moment.

Claude smirked and bowed carelessly.

"Nice to meet you, miss. My name is…" He made a short pause. "...Khalid."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to [@evil_bunny_king](https://archiveofourown.org/users/evil_bunny_king/pseuds/evil_bunny_king) for being my beta reader!

Byleth slowly closed the door to her room from the inside. When she turned around, her gaze met the curious eyes of Claude. Still not used to his new appearance, she kept having the feeling of being around a stranger. 

"You're mad at me, Teach?" asked an adult man, but in the tone of a sad puppy. He analyzed her face. "Yeah, I know the little wrinkles around your nose. You're definitely mad at me." He wasn't happy about it.

"Shouldn't I be?" she answered with a question while reminding herself of what just happened.

***

"My name is Khalid," said Claude casually.

Byleth was known for her lack of emotions, but at that moment she did her best to not turn her head and look at him in shock. The foreign name was the last thing she had expected from him.

"'Khalid?'" Hilda repeated hesitantly. "Isn't that an Almyran name?" 

"It is" confirmed Claude with a charming smile. 

A glimpse of disgust arrived on the young noble's face but disappeared quickly.

"I see…" Hilda kept gazing at the man in front of her like she wanted to memorize him. Byleth was nearly sure he would be the main topic of the next letter to Holst.

Then, Hilda’s attention moved to Byleth. It turned out she wanted to ask the professor not to choose her for the group task next week. Byleth, too distracted by Claude's ideas, agreed to that for the first time ever. 

***

"Well…" Claude scratched his head with a little abashed expression. 

Byleth crossed arms over her chest.

"This situation with the curse is complicated enough. You didn't have to make it even worse by introducing yourself as Almyran," she said harshly. "Especially not to Hilda, whose family is known for fighting them." 

"Easy, Teach. I know Hilda. She won’t do anything apart from staring at me. And I’m pretty sure she would do it anyway." Claude shrugged "Besides, I've read a lot about Almyra." He winked at her. 

Byleth barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes. 

"It's not so simple," she murmured.

"Why’s that?" The man tilted his head to the side.

"I'm afraid you don't look Almyran."

Claude seemed to not expect this answer. He blinked a few times while gaping at her confused.

"For example, your green eyes..." the professor continued while staring at him. Claude looked away with a little redness on his cheeks. "Most of Almyrans I've met have eyes in a shade of brown." Byleth analyzed his appearance for a moment. "But you have dark hair and your skin color almost matches, so you can be half-Almyran, half-Fódlanese."

Claude immediately turned his head towards her and stared at her in shock. Byleth frowned seeing his reaction. Did she say something weird? 

"You mean… I can _pretend_ to be half-Almyran, half-Fódlanese," he said carefully.

"Yes, that’s what I meant." The professor really didn't understand what was the problem. "Should I have been more precise?"

Claude shook his head, looking relieved.

"No, I just…" The man paused, looking at her like he wanted to read her mind. "Nevermind." After a moment he smiled with his fake smile that didn't reach his eyes. "But are you serious, Teach? No one is going to believe that any Fódlanese would like to have a child with Almyran." 

That sounded like he was testing her. Byleth sighed, feeling a little annoyed. 

"If you were living on the road like me, you would know there is no such thing as impossible when it comes to people," she said patiently. "Mercenary profession is good for many individuals. Clients only care if you can do your job. That's how I've met, for example, a half-Duscur archer, a couple of Dagdan man and Sreng woman, and Albinea soldier who often flirted with Fódlan's girls." He also wanted to flirt with her, but Jeralt quickly got rid of him. "The point is, you can be half-Almyran half-Fódlanese and if someone doesn’t believe it, they should get to know the world better," she finished in a slightly provocative tone.

She was a little confused seeing Claude’s stunned expression. 

"So… that's why you understand me so well…" he whispered quietly.

After getting rid of his shock, he smiled. This time it was a rare, true smile. The professor finally felt the tension in the room disappear. 

"Okay, you convinced me, Teach. Half-Almyran it is!" Claude winked at her. He sat on her bed and leaned his back on his hands. "So, let’s talk about my fake identity." 

Byleth observed him for a moment. Claude was full of surprises. She wasn’t sure if she would ever understand him completely.

The professor sighed and sat by her desk. After a moment, she turned herself towards Claude with an empty piece of paper and an owl feather in her hands. 

"Start from the beginning," she suggested.

***

They worked for a longer time than she expected to determine the details of Claude’s fake identity. Maybe they would have finished it faster if he hadn't been joking around, like when he suggested he might be a son of the Almyran king and Leicester’s noble. Byleth firmly rejected that idea. 

The piece of paper was filled with notes when the afternoon bell rang. It reminded Byleth of something.

"I should go to my father’s room before evening," she said while standing up. 

Claude frowned.

"So, still want to borrow his trousers for me, Teach? Do you think he won't mind?" 

"He is on a mission for Rhea so he may not even notice." Byleth folded the notes and put them in an envelope. "But I want him to know about the situation anyway, in case someone asks him about you." 

Claude seemed to be impressed.

"So that’s why you made notes! Clever as always, Teach!" He sent her a charming smile.

Byleth again felt a weird warmth on her cheeks. 

"You… shouldn’t call me ‘Teach’ anymore. It’s too characteristic of you," she noticed.

Claude nodded. He stood up and looked at her with a smirk on his face.

"And you should call me ‘Khalid’..." He made a short pause. ".. _.Byleth_."

The way he said her name — carefully and a little shyly, like he was tasting it on his tongue — made her blood run quicker through her veins. Seeing him standing in front of her, looking at her with a mysterious spark in his eyes made her feel an unknown squeeze in her chest.

 _"What is this feeling?"_ asked a voice in her head. _"And who is this?"_

Sothis had been sleeping for so long, Byleth had nearly forgotten about her existence. The sudden voice of the girl startled her. 

Claude sent her a questioning gaze, and she realized she should answer.

"‘Khalid’..." she repeated, not sure if she had pronounced the foreign name correctly. "Somehow it suits you. I like it." The corners of her lips bowed in a slight smile.

Surprisingly, this time it was Claude who seemed stunned by her words. His eyes widened in a shocked expression, and his face became red. 

Byleth used his distraction to move towards the door.

"Don’t open to anyone and pretend you’re not here. I’ll be back in a few minutes…" She ordered. Before leaving, she looked at Claude over her shoulder. "... _Khalid_."

His flustered face was amusing to her.

***

Byleth hurried while trying to ignore the voice of Sothis in her head.

 _"Who is this man? Why is he in your room? I went asleep for a couple of hours, and you're already doing something inappropriate!"_ The girl seemed to be outraged. 

_"Can’t you check it in my memories?"_ Byleth didn’t want to explain. 

_"Why are you…"_ started Sothis, but silenced herself. _"Actually, I can."_ She had said nothing for a minute. _"That is quite a story."_

 _"I know,"_ said the professor, while entering the captain’s quarters. She started searching for clothes in her father’s belongings. 

_"You are bothered by him."_

_"Of course I am. My student is a victim of a curse. That's bothering."_

_"I meant his appearance."_

Byleth didn’t answer.

 _"I was awakened by some unknown feeling from you. Very familiar, but somehow distant."_ Sothis seemed to be immersed in deep thought. 

_"I don't know what you mean."_

_"That's a shame. It seems to be strong. You hardly ever provide such powerful emotions."_

Byleth finally found trousers which seemed would be good for Claude: brown, with a universal cut and a little too short for her father. She quickly tidied up the rest of the clothes and left the quarters. 

_"You seem in a hurry,"_ noticed Sothis.

_"Because I am. Hilda knows about him, so the others probably already…"_

"Professor!" called a familiar voice while Byleth was passing close to the classrooms. 

Leonie was approaching her, looking excited. That couldn't be good. "Is it true that an old friend of you and Captain Jeralt is visiting the monastery?" she asked with sparkles in her eyes.

"It’s true," answered Byleth emotionlessly as always, but inside she would rather escape.

"That's great! Can I ask him about Captain Jeralt? And maybe about mercenary life, since I want to be one someday?" Leonie seemed to be delighted.

"I'm afraid he is tired after his journey," explained Byleth patiently. “Maybe tomorrow.”

The redhead girl smiled and nodded understandingly. 

"Of course. In that case, I can't wait for tomorrow." After saying it, she moved towards the Golden Deer classroom. 

Byleth was looking at Leonie’s back, but after a brief moment, she hurried to her room.

She found Claude sitting on the bed, reading a book. He looked surprised seeing her breathless from running.

Byleth handed him the trousers. 

"Change yourself and get ready to leave," she said quickly.

Claude was obviously confused.

"Leave? Where?"

"We are going to town." Byleth took a big breath. "I need to share mercenary stories with you." She looked him in the eyes. "And they can't be shared without a tankard in my hand."

***

"Leonie is the person who can most easily work out your fake identity," explained Byleth on the way to the town. "My father told her a lot about the mercenary life and our past. If she starts asking you about it, she might become suspicious." 

Claude nodded understandingly.

"Okay, but… what does this have to do with beer?" He tilted his head to the side. 

"I’ve told you already. Mercenaries don't share their stories without a tankard in their hands." That's what her father always said to people who were asking him to tell about his adventures. Maybe it was just to gain a free beer, but she had never seen him sharing them without alcohol by his side. She suspected there might be a reason for that. 

Claude shrugged.

"That sounds oddly specific, but I'm not complaining. It's always a new experience for me." He winked at her.

They finally got to the village near the monastery. It was early evening. Mothers were calling their children to come home, and tired merchants were hiding their stalls. It seemed the appearance of one of the Academy’s teachers made a sensation because villagers were peeking at them when they walked. Byleth tried to ignore them and moved towards the inn where she once had found drunk Manuela. The place seemed to be a good place to get a tasty and cool beer. 

After walking through the inn’s door, Byleth was surprised that there were already a lot of people inside. It seemed the villagers were having a drink after a workday. She didn’t complain. If there were more people, she and Claude would blend into the crowd easier. 

The professor approached the innkeeper who looked at her from behind a counter.

"Welcome! How can I help you on this beautiful Sunday evening?" asked the man enthusiastically. "Let me guess: one big beer for the fellow and a glass of wine for the pretty lady?"

"Not quite right. One big beer. For me." Byleth left a few gold coins on the counter.

"T… _Byleth_ , please," said Claude indignantly. "You know you can't stop me, and you won’t." He looked at the owner of the place. "Two big beers. My treat." His hand moved the woman’s money away and put his own in its place. 

The innkeeper seemed amused, but he said nothing. Instead, he served two big tankards of beer and accepted Claude’s payment.

When they got to the free table in the room's corner, Byleth said:

"You are aware I won’t let you skip classes tomorrow if you get drunk?"

Claude giggled.

"Well, try not to get drunk either, my teacher. But I wouldn’t be worried. Beer is weaker than wine, right?" He moved his tankard closer to his face, analyzing it.

Byleth frowned.

"You haven’t tried it before?"

The man shrugged.

"It isn’t something you can find easily in nobles’ mansions or in the monastery. I know the taste of wine perfectly, but beer is something new for me."

Byleth sent him a slight smile.

"Well, in that case, I hope you’ll enjoy it." She raised her tankard. "A toast?"

Her father was the one who always toasted. It was the first time she was drinking without him.

"Hmm…" Claude scratched his beard. "A toast to prevent Lorenz from realizing our little lies." He smirked.

Byleth sighed heavily. 

"I would rather drink to your quick return to being normal, but whatever." 

They crashed their tankards together and took a sip. The professor was observing Claude tasting this alcohol for the first time. She felt amusement at seeing him a little disappointed. 

"That is… much more bitter than I thought." He took another sip. "But I can understand why people like it. It seems to be a good drink to get rid of thirst."

"That’s right." 

_"Especially after a long mission with no inn on the way,"_ Byleth added in her thoughts.

The professor realized she hadn’t drunk any alcohol since moving to the monastery. Not that she missed it, but it just a little weird for her.

Byleth looked at the man sitting in front of her. Claude seemed to be relaxed while observing the rest of the room with his green eyes. His muscular arm was holding a beer like it was used to it. His adam’s apple was moving slowly every time he swallowed another sip of the drink. Single drops of the beer dripped onto his exposed chest, disappearing between dark hairs. His loose, simple clothes — a mix of Balthus’s and Jeralt’s belonging — made him look like he was a mercenary since forever. 

Claude must have noticed her gaze because he focused on her with a smile.

"I think I prefer wine anyway."

Byleth rolled her eyes. 

"It was you who ordered a big beer without knowing the taste," she murmured and put down her drink. "Shall I start?" 

Claude’s eyes sparkled in excitement. It immediately reminded her of how old he really was.

***

The beer turned out to be irreplaceable during the long story Byleth was telling Claude. Her throat was never — even after classes — so dried and sore before. She even needed to take a little break to buy another pint, because her previous one was quickly emptied. She understood now why her father didn’t want to share stories without one by his side. 

Claude was a good listener. He absorbed her stories about assassinating the indicated people, killing too large groups of wolves, or escorting the noble to their love affairs mansion. Sometimes he asked questions or chuckled at the more hilarious moments. 

Before Byleth had realized, it was already dark night. The inn was almost empty when she stopped talking. 

"I hope that will be enough," she said, sighing from tiredness. "At least it should give you some ideas about how to answer Leonie’s questions."

"That was more than I expected. Thank you, T… _Byleth_." Claude sent her a wide smile. 

The professor looked at him while finishing her second beer. The weird warmth in her face came back. 

She still wasn’t used to him calling her by her name. It seemed so unnatural, even considering he always had his own nickname for her. It was… more personal. 

"We should go back to the monastery," she decided, standing up. "It’s late and we have lessons tomorrow."

"Sure. But I've found one little problem, Teach." Claude smiled a little nervously.

"What is it, _Khalid_?" she asked, accenting his fake name to point out his mistake. Maybe there weren't many people around, but he still shouldn’t call her that way. 

The man seemed to be bothered by something different. 

"Well." He scratched his head. "I can’t sleep in my room."

Byleth’s eyes widened when she realized what he meant. 

Focused on the next day, she didn’t take care of the time between. She could have asked monastery staff for a room for her guest. It was already too late for that. Only one idea of how to solve the problem came to her mind.

"I guess we don’t have a choice." Byleth sighed. "I’ll let you sleep in my room today."

Claude gasped, looking at her with a shocked expression. His cheeks became a little red.

"Wh… what? Isn't that… too inappropriate?" he asked hesitantly. 

"It’s okay. I’ve slept in the same tent or inn room with men before." The difference was that she usually had her father by her side. He sometimes warned her to not do it without him, but it was Claude, even with different looks. She trusted he wouldn’t do anything stupid.

"That’s not what I…" He sighed. "Nevermind." 

Byleth sent him a questioning gaze, but he didn’t continue the topic. 

***

Her white carpet was far from being clean. She wished she had cleaned it at least once after she had moved to the monastery. And maybe had invited a few less black cats, whose fur was the most visible on the white fabric. 

Well, it was just for one night. Claude should be fine unless he had an allergy to cat fur. 

Her spare quilt and pillow were put on the carpet, making a temporary place to sleep. After finishing, she sat on her bed and looked down at her work. That wasn’t too bad. She had slept in worse conditions during her life. 

"Thank you, Teach!" Claude smirked at her while sitting on the quilt. "And sorry for the trouble."

"It’s not trouble unless you’ll snore," answered Byleth with a slight smile. 

The man scratched his beard.

"Well… I don’t know. It will be my first time sleeping in this body." 

Oh, right… The professor felt guilty for her joke out of place.

Claude didn't seem to mind and instead looked at himself. After getting lost in thought for a short while, he took his shirt off over his head. 

Byleth felt warmth reaching her face when she saw his chest fully exposed. Seeing him from a higher position made her notice all the curves of his muscles and how wide and hairy his upper body was.

"W… what…" She looked away, feeling her cheeks burning.

"I probably shouldn’t sleep in these clothes, right?" Claude seemed to be surprised by her reaction. "I mean, they’re the only ones I have, so I don’t want them to be sweaty."

Another thing she should have thought about earlier. Byleth kicked herself for not picking more clothes from her father. Maybe she could fix it the next day.

Claude made the same attractive humming noise.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot you mind seeing me naked," he said in a way she hadn’t heard from him before. The way which made her blood pump faster.

The noise of him standing up took her attention, and she looked his way. Claude was standing in front of her, with a smirk on his face. Before she could react, he had placed one hand on the wall behind the bed and took her chin in the other one, forcing her to look at him.

"Say, Teach… you seem to appreciate my new appearance." He spoke with a soft and deep voice, causing her face to burn. 

Byleth did her best to keep the emotions away. It was hard while having his exposed upper body just next to her face and seeing his gaze piercing through her. 

“You’re wrong”, she lied. 

“Am I? I can recognize your lying face.” He chuckled. “What if I prove it to you by kissing you now?”

He leaned closer until she felt his hot breath on her face. His green eyes were just centimeters from hers and she needed to use all her free will to look away.

Released from his hypnotizing look, she started to wonder what this was all about. Claude probably was aware that he shouldn’t do something like this with his teacher. He was probably testing how far he could go. What reaction did he expect from her? 

She knew what he didn’t expect, which was using his own weapon against him. 

Byleth raised her head, moving her gaze to him slowly. She squinted his eyes a little and licked her lips gradually. 

It wasn’t much, but it was enough to stun Claude. His cheeks became a little red, but the rest of his face seemed pale. 

“Well…” Byleth hummed with a soft and slightly sweet voice. “Then I’ll tell you…” She leaned towards him, nearly touching his ear with her lips. "I’m not interested in such activities with my students,” she whispered.

Claude gasped and pulled away from her, looking at her shocked. His face was this time absolutely red and his body tensed. Byleth couldn’t resist a little smirk. She'd worked him out!

The man sighed after getting rid of his confusion and spoke, sounding a little disappointed: 

"At this moment I’m Khalid, a mysterious mercenary from Almyra, not your student."

Byleth crossed arms over her chest.

"It doesn’t matter since I’ll see you behind the school bench later," she stated.

Claude rolled his eyes and sat on the carpet.

"Cold as always, Teach," he said. "Don’t worry, I was just teasing." He winked at her.

Was he? Byleth wasn’t sure. The mysterious fire in his eyes, when he was holding her, didn’t seem to be fake. 

"Besides, I wouldn’t do anything you didn’t want. I’m a gentleman," added Claude while shrugging.

"If you are a gentleman, cover yourself around a lady," Byleth answered more harshly than she intended.

"No fun, Teach. Don’t you want to admire me a little more?" He squinted his eyes a little with a teasing smile.

"No, I _don’t_." Byleth accented the last word. 

Claude seemed to be amused by the situation. 

"Well, in this case, I won’t bother the lady anymore." After saying it, he laid down and covered himself entirely with the quilt. 

The room suddenly became weirdly quiet and empty without his voice. Byleth felt uneasy but decided to ignore it. She took off her coat and other elements of her outfit to sleep more comfortably. The silhouette of the man disappeared from her eyes when she blew out a candle. After that, she lied down on her bed, staring at the dark ceiling and wondering if Claude was already asleep. His breathing was barely audible in the quiet room. 

"Good night, Teach." She suddenly heard a quiet sleepy voice.

It was weird. She was just mad at Claude for teasing her, but somehow hearing him by her side, calmed her. Her eyelids became heavy as she relaxed.

"Good night, Claude," she whispered, falling asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to my boyfriend for being my alpha reader! ;*  
> (he doesn't have an AO3 account, but he was offended that I didn't mention him before, lol)

The morning bell rang loudly, announcing the start of the new day and waking up the whole monastery. Byleth, hearing it, opened her eyes and slowly raised herself to a sitting position. 

For a moment she couldn’t understand who the person sleeping on her carpet was and why they were in her room in the first place. Then, she remembered the insane events of the previous day. Claude being cursed to look older, but still being a teenager inside. His lies about being Almyran, which forced them to create a complicated fake identity. Their visit to the town to drink beer and share mercenaries’ stories. 

Speaking of the beer… Why did her head seem so heavy? It was just two beers. Was it because she hadn’t been drinking for a while? Or maybe she drank too much, too quickly? Whatever it was, she didn’t feel great at that moment. The bed seemed weirdly comfortable and warm, tempting her to lay down on it for a little longer. 

She looked at Claude, who was still sleeping. He didn’t seem to care about the morning bell. That was weird; he was always punctual to her lessons. 

Byleth kneeled next to him and gently shook his arm. 

“Claude, it’s morning already. Wake up,” she said. 

The man hummed and his eyes barely opened, looking at her through small slits. 

“Five more minutes…” he murmured, turning his face away from her. 

Byleth frowned, not expecting refusal. 

For some reason, his voice caught her attention. It was a little hoarse and unusually deep. She liked how it sounded, sleepy like that…

A quick shake of her head got rid of her weird thoughts. She needed to be more careful about them. A giggle of Sothis in her head only confirmed it. 

“Claude…” She shook his arm again. This time the man sighed and rested his own hand on hers.

“Sorry, Teach. I’ll be up in a minute. Just…” He looked at her with a sleepy gaze and smiled a little. “I haven’t slept so well in a while.”

Byleth frowned. 

“Not funny. You were sleeping on a hard, dirty carpet,” she said.

Claude chuckled.

“Yeah, but it doesn’t change the fact that I feel safe by your side.” He winked at her.

Now Byleth was certain he was teasing her again. She withdrew her hand and stood up.

“Get up and prepare yourself. We are meeting with the Golden Deer today. I want to be sure you won't say anything weird, as you did with Hilda.”

Claude groaned, disappointed by the lack of her reaction. 

***

Flayn found the Golden Deer students in the dining hall, eating breakfast. She noticed Hilda explaining something lively to her classmates. When the pink-haired girl noticed her, her confidence faded. 

“Good morning, Flayn.” Hilda hesitated. “Can you promise me to not tell your brother about anything?” she asked in a pleading manner. 

Flayn frowned. 

Was there something scandalous? Even so, Flayn couldn’t familiarize her brother with it! He would demand that they move out of the monastery, and that was the last thing Flayn desired! 

“You have my word, Hilda,” answered Flayn politely.

The pink-haired girl sighed in relief and focused again on her classmates.

“Good… so, my point is the professor and this Almyran man are a thing!” she exclaimed.

Lysithea threw another sugar cube to her drink and sipped it, gazing at Hilda skeptically.

“I don’t know. According to your story, you saw this man only for a few seconds, and you are already making some weird theories about him,” she said. 

Hilda rolled her eyes. 

“You haven’t seen them! The professor has never been so expressive before!” She crossed her arms over her chest. “She is only so casual around her father and maybe Claude. And so now, why is she like this around some weird, unknown foreigner? I’m sure they are or were lovers!” 

Flayn gasped. Oh, the professor had a lover? Such actions under the Church’s nose?! Oh, so exciting! She wanted to know more about it! 

She looked at the other students from her class, seeking the same intense reaction. 

Marianne didn’t seem to be interested in the topic. She was hiding her face behind her bangs while slowly eating a simple salad.

Lorenz snorted, correcting his hair.

“Hilda, please. Our professor with some Almyran? I’m sure she has better taste,” he called in contempt.

Leonie just shrugged.

“I just want him to talk about his time with Captain Jeralt,” she said honestly, leaning her cheek on her hand. 

“Do you think he will talk about Almyra too? I wonder what landscapes there are…” Ignatz got lost in thought for a moment.

“... or what food there is. I hope they have a lot of meat.” Raphael took a big bite of a chicken roast.

“Just don’t bring these topics during the lesson. I don’t want to waste my time.” Lysithea dug her spoon in a piece of cake in front of her. 

Hilda groaned.

“You guys are missing the point! The professor. Has. A lover!” She paused between the words to accent their meaning, but her friends still didn’t seem to care. She sighed heavily. “You’re totally useless! Claude would understand me! Where is he anyway?” Her gaze moved around the dining hall, trying to spot her house's leader.

“As you mentioned him… I’m nearly sure he wasn’t in his room since yesterday.” Lorenz raised his eyebrows while scratching his chin. 

“What? What is he doing at a time like this?” Hilda seemed to be more outraged than worried.

***

The last time Byleth was under such careful observation after entering the classroom was when she started working as a teacher. Everyone from her class — even the ones who were usually late like Hilda and Hapi — were there and were staring at her, while she was moving towards her teacher’s desk with Claude by her side. She tried to ignore the unpleasant feeling of being closely watched. 

Her companion probably had it even worse. When Byleth turned towards her students, she noticed most of them piercing Claude with their gazes. 

There were some exceptions. Marianne was staring at her desk as always, Hapi looked bored like usual and Yuri…

Byleth felt her blood freezing. She knew that smile. That was a smile of someone who _knew_ what was going on. Yuri was looking at her and Claude relaxed like he expected to see a hilarious performance. 

Byleth moved her eyes to Constance. The former noble was hiding her face behind her fan, obviously ashamed of something. She must have told him.

So, there was at least one more person who knew what was going on. Fortunately, it was someone from Abyss, so the secret of its existence was still safe. 

Byleth tried to not be distracted by it and proceeded with the lesson as she and Claude had established. 

“Good morning,” she said. “I hope you don’t mind if my colleague will join us today. I assure you he will not disturb our lessons.” Lysithea visibly relaxed.

“Nice to meet you, youngers! I’m Khalid!” Claude waved his hand with a big smile. 

Constance looked at him with confusion. Yuri’s smile widened. 

“Khalid’s father is Almyran, but he was raised in Fódlan. We met on the road as mercenaries,” Byleth explained, trying to ignore the faces of students who knew the truth. “If you have questions, ask after the class.”

Flayn raised her hand. The professor gulped, seeing this.

“Yes, Flayn?” she asked, trying to keep her voice calm. 

“Professor, Claude is absent,” said the green-haired girl worriedly. 

Of course, Byleth had forgotten about _so basic a thing_ as the absence of the leader of her house. Well, technically he was there, but others didn’t know it. She and Claude had talked about it during their conversation the day before, but she'd been too distracted to remember that after arriving at the class. Yuri had something to do with that.

“Claude left for Derdriu yesterday. I suppose it has something to do with the roundtable,” said the professor.

“Nonsense!” Lorenz called loudly. “My father always informs me about the meeting of the roundtable! They never take place at such short notice!”

Byleth bit her lip. Had Claude known about this? Why did he suggest that answer to cover his disappearance?

“That’s only what I assumed. Claude is in Derdriu and will be back in a few days, then you can ask him why he had left.” That answer might have been too harsh and suspicious. She decided to quickly drop the topic. “Khalid, please sit in the first row.” Before Claude had made even a step towards the school bench, Hilda suddenly stood up. 

“Wait a second, professor! You don’t expect us to just accept some unknown man at our lessons without a proper explanation, right?” Her eyebrows frowned, but her gaze seemed to be more excited than concerned. 

Byleth barely restrained herself from sighing. 

_“She didn't question anything when I started teaching four people out of nowhere…”_ she thought.

“What explanation would satisfy you, Hilda?” Byleth crossed arms over her chest, looking at the young noble. 

Pink eyes sparkled, and Hilda scratched her chin with a smirk on her face.

“I don’t know… for example, where did you meet? How did you get so close to each other? Why is he trying out our lessons?” 

_“Close to each other? What is she talking about?”_ The professor frowned. 

Claude chuckled. 

“Well, so you aren’t easy to satisfy. That’s a long story,” he grinned. 

Then Byleth noticed Claude was standing so close his hand was in her reach. That wasn’t a distance in which she would be comfortable with strangers. Hilda’s perceptivity was impressive, but at that moment it was working against the teacher. 

“Can it really not wait until after the lesson?” Lysithea seemed annoyed. 

Byleth sent her a weak smile. 

“It’s okay, Lysithea. I’ll explain briefly.” 

The backstory about their relationship had been prepared the day before, and it was really simple. The professor wasn’t sure what Claude meant by “a long story”, but it probably was just a little lie to make him more realistic. 

“We’ve met on Leicester’s territory close to Derdriu a few years ago. My father needed to replenish his troop of mercenaries and Khalid joined us,” said Byleth simply.

“The beautiful daughter of the leader was enough to convince me,” added Claude with a strange smirk on his face.

Byleth looked at him, trying to hide her surprise.

What was he talking about? That wasn’t something they'd established the day before!

The professor noticed her students staring at them interestedly. She needed to continue the story to avoid suspicion.

“He was one of the youngest mercenaries, so we got along with each other well,” she said. 

"We were nearly inseparable." Claude interrupted her again. 

That again wasn't something they talked about before, but Byleth ignored it.

"But Khalid was needed in his father's house. He left for Almyra before me and my father arrived in the monastery."

"Which was a shame because we were deeply in love with each other.”

That wasn’t something Byleth could ignore. She turned her head towards Claude, who was smiling widely.

“What are you talking about?” she asked with tension in her voice. 

Claude giggled.

“I’m just joking. She was too emotionless back then. But she is much better now, right?” He winked towards the classroom. 

Byleth was afraid to look at her students,

Most of them were staring at her and Claude with confusion. Even Marianne had raised her head and Hapi paid attention to what was happening. Hilda was smiling with satisfaction, looking proudly around like she wanted to confirm her victory. Constance seemed to be surprised and Yuri was nearly lying on his bench, trying to hide his laughter. 

“Cut it out with jokes like this, unless you want to be asked to leave.” Byleth turned again towards Claude. 

“Wasn’t it you who wanted me to attend your classes?” The man leaned towards her with a satisfied smirk. 

“I did, just so you wouldn’t mess around while I was busy.” Byleth looked at him provocatively. 

“You should have a little more faith in me, my friend.” Claude sighed but kept smirking after that. “After all, I came from Almyra just to meet you.” 

Someone from the students’ side coughed. They looked at Lorenz, who seemed to be disgusted.

“Can you stop flirting, professor? It isn’t something the teacher of the officer’s academy should do in public,” he said loudly.

Hilda groaned.

“Really, Lorenz? Let the professor live!” 

Byleth blinked while looking at them. What did they mean? Flirting? Her?

Claude next to her chuckled.

“I think I already took up too much of your lesson time, Byleth. Please just proceed.” He sent her a smile and moved towards the first bench to sit next to Marianne. 

Byleth was left stunned in the middle of the classroom. For the first time since she had become a teacher, she didn’t know how to start the lesson.

***

The bell announcing the break interrupted the lesson about wyverns, which Byleth had prepared for Claude and Hilda. It was time to move out of the classroom and take a big breath of fresh air. Byleth desired that, as well as wanting to exchange a word with one particular person.

She approached Claude and leaned towards him, so no one else could hear her. 

“I need to talk to Yuri. Can you not do or say anything suspicious until I get back?” she whispered.

“I’m a grown-up man, _Byleth_. I can take care of myself.” He winked at her.

Byleth was unsure. He could come up with other weird ideas while she was away. However, she decided to trust him.

“Be careful,” she said and moved out of the classroom, ignoring gazes of the students who were still inside it. 

Yuri seemed to expect Byleth to talk to him and was standing away from the rest of the students along with Constance. He smiled and waved a little in her direction. Constance had turned away, looking embarrassed. The sun was shining on her, right at her face, making her feel down as always. 

When Byleth approached them, Yuri said:

“Hello, friend! It’s weird for you to leave your exotic colleague behind,” he smirked at her.

“Cut it out. It’s obvious you know what’s going on.” The professor crossed her arms over her chest. “How did it happen?”

Constance looked like she was near tears.

“I’m so sorry, professor… you shouldn’t trust someone so pitiful and awful as me! It’s all my fault…” she whispered with guilt in her voice. 

Yuri waved his hand dismissively, looking a little annoyed.

“No, it’s not,” he sighed, seeing Constance's teary eyes. Then he turned towards Byleth. “The fact is... people are in Abyss for a reason… and that reason is mostly to hide from something.” He smiled nonchalantly. “Did you really expect to walk around Abyss with a stranger without grabbing people's attention, my friend?”

“I guess I was too naïve.” Byleth didn’t bother denying it. “So the people of Abyss let you know about Claude.”

Yuri shrugged.

“They just noticed you contacted Constance. That was enough to get the rest of the information. You must know, my friend, that Constance is bad at making things up… quite literally…” He looked at the other Ashen Wolf, who cried sadly. “After she tried to lie to me, I easily found out what really happened.”

Byleth sighed.

“So there was a weak point in this plan.” She admitted. Constance started calling herself a weak point while looking at the ground. “At least it’s not something that will reveal the existence of Abyss. Do Hapi and Balthus know too?” 

“Hapi probably knows something, but she doesn’t care. You don’t have to worry about her.” Yuri seemed to be amused. “And Balthus… he is too expressive and might say something accidentally, so I haven’t let him know about this.” He giggled. “Besides, it’s funnier this way.”

“Funnier?” Byleth repeated incredulously.

After she had said it, Claude and some Golden Deer left the classroom, talking loudly. Balthus was between them. 

“Khalid, right?” The professor heard his words. “I’m nearly sure a similar shirt to the one you are wearing right now is lying at the bottom of my wardrobe…” Balthus scratched his chin, in deep thought. Claude tensed up, looking at the Ashen Wolf. 

“Well, gotta show off this nice muscular body, am I right?” he said casually, despite his panicking smile.

The giant man strongly hit Claude’s back, laughing loudly.

“That’s what I say! You have great taste, buddy!” he called.

“See?” asked Yuri with a satisfied smile, when Byleth moved her eyes from the situation. “By the way, I hadn’t expected poor cursed Claude to look so good. I wouldn’t complain if he stayed like this.” Yuri gently rubbed his chin. “Don’t you agree, Teacher?” he asked teasingly. 

That was a dangerous topic which Byleth would rather avoid. She decided to ignore the question.

“Thank you for explaining what happened. I’m much calmer now.” She turned towards the group in front of the classroom. “I better check he isn’t saying anything that might be dangerous.” 

Yuri chuckled.

“Of course, my friend. If you need any help, just ask me.” He paused. “Although, I know little about Almyra,” he added, amused.

Byleth only nodded to show her appreciation for his offer. She didn’t want to waste any more time explaining that Almyran paternity was Claude’s weird idea. 

She moved towards the group while listening to what Claude was telling them. It seemed he was talking about Almyran food. 

“...don't eat all kinds of meat. But there are many types of bread,” he finished.

Raphael groaned.

“What? Why would they avoid some kinds of meat? They’re all so tasty!” He patted his stomach with his giant hand. “Just thinking about them makes me hungry!” 

Claude laughed.

“Personally, I don’t restrain myself from them too, but you know. _Traditions_.” To confirm it, he rolled his eyes theatrically. 

Leonie winced.

“That’s stupid. When people are hungry, they should eat everything edible,” she stated.

“Can they drink every type of alcohol? If not, I won't visit Almyra. Ever.” Balthus crossed his arms over his chest.

“I hope they can eat fish! I couldn't live without eating fish!” called Flayn.

Byleth approached them, but not too close, to avoid disconcerting the group of listeners. She looked around.

Claude was surrounded by Raphael, Ignatz, Leonie, Hilda, Flayn, and Balthus. Lysithea was standing close to them with her nose buried in a book but Byleth was nearly sure she was listening stealthily. Lorenz was looking at them with disgust from a distance like he didn’t want to associate with the foreigner. Hapi was chatting with Linhardt, close to the Black Eagles classroom, not caring at all about “the guest”. Marianne was nowhere to be found. She probably was spending her free time in stables, like always. 

“Umm…” Ignatz started a little shyly. “Can you tell us about Almyra’s landscape? I want to travel the world someday and hopefully see it myself, but until then…”

Claude’s eyes moved to him, interested.

“Traveling the world, huh?” He seemed to be proud of his classmate. “Well, of course, you'd better see Almyra with your own eyes, but let me think of something…” He got lost in his thoughts for a moment. “Oh, for example… Do you know that Almyra is partly covered with big areas of just sand and rocks?”

Lorenz, who still was standing afar, rolled his eyes.

“We know what _deserts_ are, Almyran. Most of Sreng is covered with one,” he said loudly, showing obvious contempt in his voice.

Claude seemed to be amused, but also a little annoyed.

“Great to know, _noble boy_. But have you actually been to a desert? Especially during the night?” he asked while staring at Lorenz. 

The conviction of the purple-haired student faded a little. The answer was obviously negative.

Claude ignored him and looked around at the other listeners. 

“In my opinion, there aren’t many views as beautiful as when you are flying a wyvern in a desert during a twilight. When you are able to see the last rays of the sun above the horizon. The sky changes its color part by part, from a beautiful, bright orange to darker and then cold navy blue. The sand and rocks underneath you are disappearing every second, hiding in the night's darkness.” He paused. “And then… you don’t even notice when they arrive… before all else, you see single ones but then you realize they are countless and you can’t grasp enough of them.” He stopped talking for a moment again, a dreamy smile on his face. He raised his head, looking at the blue clear sky, probably imagining it being much different. “The stars are above you... grouped in milky roads... blinking with white lights to you... Showing how small you are compared to their number. Some are bigger, others are barely visible. Some make constellations you know, others are unexplored… and you want to reach them all… but you also know it’s impossible… there are just too many.” Claude blinked like he just realized where he really was. His head dropped, and he sent a little abashed smile to Ignatz. “That’s really something I would like you… and everyone to see.” He scratched his beard a little awkwardly.

His listeners seemed to be stunned. Even Lysithea stopped pretending to read her book, looking at Claude with her mouth dropped. 

“That sounds beautiful! I just saw it in front of my eyes!” called Ignatz, leaning closer to the man with a passion in his eyes. “I want to capture this view right away! Ah...” The artist pulled back, looking ashamed. “I’m sorry… I just paint sometimes as a hobby… it won’t be great, but can I paint the scene you just described? I can give you the finished piece...” His face became red. 

“Really? You paint?” Claude was great at faking his surprise. “I would be honored! But better give the result to your professor.” He winked at Byleth. “I always wanted to take her to Almyra. She would see at least a small part of it.” Saying it, he kept staring into her eyes. 

“Aww, you two are so romantic!” Hilda placed hands on her cheeks with a dreamy smile. 

The bell rang, announcing the end of the break. Byleth used this moment to approach Claude.

“Please go to the classroom. I’ll join you soon,” she turned to her students. “I need to talk to my guest.”

The Golden Deer moved a little lazily towards the classroom and Byleth pulled Claude away from them.

“Good job handling those questions,” she said when she made sure no one could hear them. “No one has seemed to figure you out yet.”

Claude smirked.

“It was a challenge… especially when Leonie got to me right after you left.”

“What did you say to her?” The professor tilted her head to the side. She wondered which of her stories was helpful.

“‘Mercenaries don't share their stories without a tankard in their hands.’" Claude giggled, seeing Byleth’s confused face. “Funnily enough, answering like this made me more realistic in her eyes. ‘That’s what Captain Jeralt always says!’” Leonie’s words were said with a high-pitched, excited voice. 

Byleth felt like she’d been tricked. It turned out there had been no reason to go to the inn the day before. 

Claude must have noticed the disappointment on her face because he added:

“Don’t worry, I’m sure she will persuade me anyway. Especially since Balthus heard the word ‘beer’ and started talking about drinking after class, so maybe they’ll force me to go.” He shrugged. “I would prefer wine, but that’s not what a mercenary would order, right?” 

Byleth noted his casual behavior and the smirk on his face. It seemed like the whole situation with the curse was more entertaining for him than worrying. He didn’t look like someone who felt guilty about lying to people. 

“You really have a silver tongue, don’t you?” she spoke.

Claude seemed to not expect that question. He blinked, surprised, but then smiled.

“Well, I don’t deny it, but why all of a sudden?” he asked, looking at her carefully.

“You knew exactly what to say to Leonie or Balthus. When Ignatz asked about Almyra’s landscape you changed the subject to the sky, which is the same wherever.” Byleth crossed arms over her chest. “I’m one of few who knows the truth, but you nearly convinced me.”

Claude looked amused.

“You flatter me, Teach, but it’s easier than you think. Besides, I don’t agree the sky is identical everywhere. I do really think the one above Almyra is the most beautiful.” He winked at her.

“Huh?” Byleth’s eyes widened.

Claude, seeing her confusion, tensed up as if he said something he shouldn't. But, in a blink of an eye, he chuckled like nothing had happened.

“At least that’s what I’ve read in some book about Almyra,” he said with a smile. “Come on, Teach. We should go back to the others before Hilda thinks we’re making out here.” After saying it, the man started moving towards the classroom.

Byleth stayed in place, still disoriented by what just happened. 

While looking at his back, two things came to her mind.

First, she had forgotten to reprimand Claude for lying to others about their relationship, even as a joke.

Second, she had the privilege of knowing what was going on, but it turned out Claude’s lies were reaching deeper than she expected. 

And she still knew nothing about him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Headcanon used in this chapter: dance lessons for the White Heron Cup are not only on Sundays but also on all days from when the representative was chosen until the competition day.

Byleth found Claude eating dinner with the rest of the Golden Deer. He was talking vigorously, gesturing with a fork, and sometimes taking a break to drink from the cup in his other hand. 

She sat in the chair next to him, thanking her students for keeping it empty and ordering one of the dishes for her.

"Welcome back, my friend." Claude smiled at her. "I was just relating how you were stabbed in the leg."

"Oh no!" Flayn was full of concern. "Is it true, professor?" 

Byleth sighed internally. Of all stories, he chose the one where she’d showed weakness.

"Well, yes. I still have a scar from it," she admitted reluctantly. Her nose wrinkled when she smelled the odor of the alcohol. "Is it wine?" She looked at the cup in Claude’s hand. 

The man shrugged with a smirk.

"Miss Leonie offered it to me. I would prefer a beer, but they don’t serve it here," he lied without even stuttering. 

_"In reality, you just enjoy legally drinking alcohol on the terrain of the monastery,"_ thought Byleth while looking at his amused face.

"Where have you been, professor?" asked Hilda with a curious gaze. 

Oh, right.

Byleth reached into the pocket of her coat and placed something in front of Claude.

"A key to your guest room. First floor, second door. It was a little hard to get since the monastery is hosting homeless villagers from Remire," she admitted.

"Thank you, Byleth." He looked at her, smiling. 

Claude’s gaze seemed to be warm and relaxed. It was weird, considering he was surrounded by students, who could easily see through him if he said something wrong. Was it because of the wine? 

Leonie leaned towards them across the dining table.

"Don’t change the subject! I want to know what happened next!" she exclaimed."Did captain Jeralt save the professor?" 

Before Byleth could open her lips, Claude said:

"No, it was me!" He pointed at himself with his thumb. "The bandit already felt the victory, so he was so distracted I got him from behind and cut off his head!" 

Actually, it was really Jeralt, but Byleth said nothing. It was better to present _Khalid_ as someone who took part in that situation. Claude really knew how to make his fake identity more realistic. 

"So you owe him your life, professor!" Hilda seemed to be excited. 

"No, I paid it back by pulling him out of range of the enemy's sword during another battle." Byleth took a bite of her dinner, avoiding the pink eyes. 

Claude looked at her, frowning.

"How about when I took you wounded to Benedikt, carrying you in my own arms?" he asked, winking.

_"He remembered the name of my troop’s healer,"_ noticed Byleth, a little impressed.

"I used my own shirt to stop your bleeding when you nearly lost your arm." In reality, it was a mercenary whose name she didn’t even remember, but her students didn’t need to know that. 

Claude looked at her a little annoyed. Byleth sent him a smirk, watching him from the corner of her eye. 

A little shy cough moved her attention to Flayn.

"I'm sorry for the interruption, professor, but it’s almost time for the dance lesson." Despite her timidity, the green-haired girl seemed to be excited.

Right… Byleth had nearly forgotten about the White Heron Cup because of the situation with Claude.

"Of course. I’ll join you after finishing my meal," she said. 

Flayn nodded with a big smile on her face. She seemed eager about the dance practices, even after having them every day for the last week. Byleth was pleased that she had chosen her as the Golden Deer representative.

"Dance lesson? Are you learning to dance, Byleth?" asked Claude with a curious astonishment.

The professor looked at him, confused. Why had he asked about it? He probably knew more than her about the White Heron Cup.

"Of course not. This is a dancing contest for students. I only correct their rhythm and movements." Byleth took another bite of her dinner, wondering why the professors in this school needed to know everything. She hadn’t made a single dance step in her life and then was asked to teach it to others. 

Claude sighed, disappointed.

"So you don’t dance? Too bad. I’m sure you would look glorious in the dancer’s attire." He winked at her with a charming smile. 

Byleth felt her cheeks becoming weird. She quickly looked away from him, trying to focus on the meal in front of her. For some reason, she had a feeling that her students were closely observing her. 

Suddenly Hilda’s voice took her attention.

"Besides the contest, we have a grand ball at the end of the moon. This will be a great occasion to dance with the professor!" It was said in a very suggestive tone. 

"Oh, really?" Byleth raised her head to look at the convincingly curious face of Claude. "Too bad I won’t be here then."

Hilda’s eyes widened. 

"What? Why?" She stood up and leaned towards Claude. "I thought you would stay and join Jeralt’s battalion! Didn’t you come to the monastery just to meet the professor?"

Claude seemed to be amused.

"That was… partly the truth," he admitted.

Byleth rolled her eyes.

"Khalid is here only because he was traveling from the Empire. He heard my father was a leader of the Knights of Seiros and stopped by before going to Almyra," she said. 

"...and probably never come back. I inherited my father's business, which doesn't allow me to travel," added Claude.

"Oh no!" Flayn gasped, covering her lips with her hands. "Aren’t you sad, professor?" she asked.

Byleth looked at her, a little confused.

"Why would I be?" 

"Aren’t you two in love?" exclaimed Flayn.

Byleth was happy she hadn’t bitten the piece of meat she had on her fork, because she would definitely choke on that. Hilda hit her forehead hard with her opened hand. Other students were too stunned to react somehow. Claude, on the other hand, seemed to be delighted.

"Are we? Why didn't you tell me you loved me, Byleth? You know I’m bad at reading your thoughts." He leaned towards her and put his arm around her. 

Byleth took a big breath.

"Flayn, no, we aren’t. We’re just friends." She shook off Claude’s hand. "Don’t even joke like that," she said to him harshly.

"Professor is right, foreigner!" suddenly said Lorenz. "You should stop lying about your relationship with the professor! Are you making fun of her?" He asked angrily. 

"Lorenz, don't…" started Byleth, but Claude interrupted her.

"Making fun of her is the last thing I want." He smiled widely. "That’s rather my way to show appreciation of her company. Your professor is an intelligent and beautiful woman, which is exactly what I look for in the girl of my dreams. But it’s not something a noble like you would appreciate, right?" Claude squeezed his eyes in a sarcastic way.

"E… excuse me?" Lorenz seemed to be both shocked and indignant.

"Khalid…" Byleth sent the man a warning gaze.

"I’ve traveled across the country a lot. I know your type. You probably only focus on someone’s paternity, right? That’s why you keep calling me ‘foreigner’ even if I’m partly Fódlanese." Claude’s gaze became much colder, but his lips were still curved in a smile. "That’s quite pitiful, don’t you think?"

Lorenz’s face became pink. He stood up, looking like he wanted to start a fight. 

"How dare you, foreigner? Calling me pitiful?"

"Actually, I only called your manner pitiful." Claude seemed to be amused. "But as you mentioned it, maybe your hairstyle is a little pitiful too." 

Weak smiles arrived on the faces of students who were listening to that argument. Some of them, like Hilda, even chuckled loudly. 

Lorenz was stunned and became even redder on his face. He searched for the words to respond but then resigned. 

"I won’t waste my breath explaining why you are wrong, foreigner," he said harshly and left the dining hall, marching firmly and holding his chin high like an offended child.

After Lorenz disappeared from the sight, Raphael laughed loudly. 

"Good one, Khalid!" 

Leonie giggled.

"Yeah, Lorenz keeps saying his hairstyle is the most popular among the nobles in Deidriu but has anyone seen anyone else with it?"

Hilda rested her face on her chin, smirking.

"Who knows, maybe Claude left to Deidriu to gain one," she joked.

Claude groaned, getting attention. He quickly cleared his throat and said:

"I mean… I hope it won’t actually become popular." 

The students laughed, but Byleth was silent. She was still thinking about what just happened between Claude and Lorenz. It seemed Claude used his fake identity to tell Lorenz what he was thinking about him to his face. Did he do the same by calling her intelligent and beautiful? What did his fake identity gain thanks to that? Or maybe… that wasn't just Khalid, who was thinking this way, but... also Claude? 

That was a dangerous idea, which definitely shouldn't be touched around students. Byleth needed to focus on current events to avoid suspicion. She quickly finished her meal and stood up.

"Flayn, we can go now."

The green-haired girl seemed to still be a little ashamed of her earlier assumptions, but she lightened up hearing that. 

"Miss Flayn, right?" Claude also raised from his place. "Mind if I join you and Byleth for the dance lesson?"

The girl gasped quietly.

"No, obviously not!" she answered with excitement. "Are you interested in dancing? It’s probably too disrespectful of me, but can you tell me something about Almyran dances? Naturally, if not..."

"No problem at all!" Claude smiled widely. 

For some reason, Byleth was uneasy after hearing that. She felt like something was at the back of her mind that she couldn’t grasp. Something was not right in Claude’s confidence, but she was yet to understand what it was. 

***

When the professor, Flayn, and the mysterious Khalid left the dining hall, Hilda turned towards her classmates and looked at them with a victorious expression. 

"See? I was right from the beginning. The professor and this guy _are_ a thing," she said confidently.

Leonie rolled her eyes but got lost in thoughts after that.

"Well, I guess… The professor is really much more open around him. Captain Jeralt mentioned she never was expressive and now what?"

"I haven't seen so many emotions on her face before," added Ignatz. 

"Maybe she was just hungry?" after saying that Raphael focused again at eating leftovers from Lorenz's plate. Besides gaining Ignatz’s smile, he was ignored. 

"She is much more expressive, but unfortunately only to reject the lover." Hilda crossed arms over her chest. "At least one thing is certain: Khalid openly adores her. And I can't believe a guy like him is being rejected." She shook her head.

"Maybe…" Marianne started quietly. "Maybe the professor knew he would leave soon."

"...and didn't want to be involved in a relationship without a future? Good point, Marianne!" Hilda looked proudly at her shy friend. Then she sighed. "It’s a shame he needs to leave! They would be such a good pair! At least Claude stays in Fódlan," she added with a smirk.

"Huh?" Raphael seemed to be confused. "What does Claude have to do with it?"

"Oh, come on! Isn't it obvious?" Seeing confusion at her friends' faces, Hilda rolled her eyes. "Khalid is like Claude in many ways. The same hair, eyes color, facial features. The identical way of speaking. Even his laugh sounds the same! Give Claude a few more years and maybe he will become this handsome." She giggled. 

"So that's why he seemed familiar!" Ignatz got lost in thought for a second. "Maybe that's also why the professor gets along Claude so well. He just reminded her of her old friend!"

Leonie scratched her chin.

"That makes sense," she admitted.

Hilda groaned.

"It would be so much easier if we could see them next to each other. Stupid Claude. Why did he leave the monastery at exactly this time?"

***

None of the Golden Deer students discussing the love life of their professor noticed that one of them was suspiciously quiet. Lysithea was listening to everything, analyzing it in her head, and connecting dots no one else seemed to care about. 

After hearing what the others were thinking, she was nearly sure her theory was correct. 

To confirm her suspicions, she needed to find the professor.

And her mysterious friend, whose real name was most likely Claude von Riegan.

***

Flayn was way too distracted. Instead of thinking of her steps, she was gazing towards Claude and asking him about Almyran dances during breaks in the music. Byleth was annoyed by that. 

"Flayn, pay attention!" she said more harshly than intended. 

The green eyes filled with tears. 

"I’m so sorry, professor!" cried Flayn and tried to focus again on catching the rhythm of the music.

Claude giggled.

"Damn, you really are a demanding teacher, aren’t you?" he said amused. 

"She wouldn’t be that distracted if she hadn't heard about those Almyran dances." Byleth sighed. 

The man shrugged.

"I can’t blame her for wanting to know more about them."

They were in a courtyard in front of the classrooms. The area was now filled with slow, elegant melody thanks to a band of musicians invited to the monastery for this occasion. Byleth noticed Manuela giving dancing tips to Dorothea and Hanneman clapping a rhythm for Annette. There were also some random students, who were honing their dancing skills for the ball. 

Claude got lost in thought for a second. 

"Hey, but how about I show her some Almyran dances? Do you think she will be satisfied then?" He scratched his chin.

"Show her?" Byleth looked at him, surprised. 

"Yeah, but…" He looked at the musicians performing a gentle melody. "This music is much too slow," he complained and moved towards the band. 

"What? C… Khalid, stop!" Byleth called after him, but he ignored her. 

He approached the musicians and started talking with them. After a moment Byleth frowned, seeing him clapping some fast rhythm with his hands. The musicians didn’t seem to be convinced, but after getting a few gold coins in their hands, they started playing.

The music was much faster than any melody Byleth had heard in her life, even ones played in inns and villages festivals. Claude nodded his head with approval and came back to the professor, looking delighted.

"It’s not very similar to Almyran music, but at least I can move to that," he said and winked at her.

The people who were previously training stood still, surprised about the unknown and fast melody. Claude used their confusion to gain a lot of free space. Then he started dancing.

For the few first steps, it seemed the uneven surface of a grassy courtyard was making trouble for him, but after a moment he caught the rhythm. The movement of his legs took the most attention. First, his right foot was in front, but before Byleth realized it, it switched place with a left one, and then he suddenly raised his left knee and moved it with a jump to the back, leaving a free area for the right leg. The professor after a second stopped paying attention to which foot was where, realizing that every small step, every bend of his knee and every jump was in rhythm with the music. The same went for the movement of his arms. Claude was raising his hands, twisting them and waving, which was making him look like a tree bending under strong winds. Sometimes he placed his fist on his back, sometimes put an opened hand in front of his face. 

Suddenly the chain of moves stopped because Claude started spinning in place on one leg, the second one keeping bent or using it to push himself. Finally, he stopped and proceeded to another sequence of the dance.

After a short time, Claude and musicians were visibly tired of the fast rhythm. He finished by landing on his knees and raising his arms above his head.

The courtyard became quiet, not only because of the lack of music but also because everyone who witnessed the dance was stunned. The only noise breaking the silence was Claude’s fast breathing. 

Flayn was the first who got rid of her shock.

"That was… absolutely wonderful!" she exclaimed, running towards the man, who in the meantime stood up. "I would be honored if you’d teach me this dance!" 

Claude smiled tiredly. He brushed his sweat-damp hair away from his forehead.

"I don’t think it will help you win the contest. Besides, I know only men’s dances, so…" he started, but Flayn interrupted him.

"Mister, please! Just a few steps!" she bowed her head pleadingly. 

Claude looked at Byleth, searching for her help.

The professor gulped, trying to calm herself down after seeing that performance. The appearance of Claude at that moment wasn’t helping. He was still panting, which was making his exposed chest move with every sharp breath. His shirt was sticking to his body, revealing a muscular silhouette, and single drops of sweat were forming on his skin and disappearing between his dark hairs. And his gaze… it was exhausted but also filled with fire.

Byleth wasn’t the one who was dancing, but she suddenly felt hot. 

Her throat was sore. After clearing it, she said:

"Maybe she will feel the rhythm a little better after a short lesson from you."

Claude sent her a surprised gaze, but after that, he focused on Flayn again.

"Well, if you’ll move more smoothly than I, it should look more like a women's dance." He scratched his beard. 

"I can do it!" called the green-haired girl, clenching her fists.

Claude started explaining her moves, while Byleth’s attention turned to Lysithea who was observing the situation from nearby.

"Professor." The white-haired girl seemed to wake from deep thought when her teacher approached her. She smiled a little, embarrassed by something. "You're probably wondering why I'm here." Byleth nodded in response. Lysithea sighed. "To be honest, rather than dancing, I've come to see your guest."

"Why?" Byleth tilted her head to the side. Lysithea hadn't been interested in "Khalid" earlier. 

"This might be laughable, but I thought he was Claude."

Byleth did her best to not show how unexpected that information was to her. 

_"Yes, keep it cool. She said she had thought, which means she doesn't anymore,"_ instructed Sothis in her head.

"That's ridiculous," said Byleth. "Claude is…"

"...in Derdriu, I know." Lysithea sighed again. "But you can't blame me for suspecting things, professor. He appeared exactly when Claude left saying nothing, you are quite familiar with him, and most importantly they are extremely similar to each other." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I thought he might be a victim of some aging up curse or something like that."

_"What an intelligent child,"_ noticed Sothis, amused. _"I wonder why she changed her mind."_

"What made you sure it's not Claude?" asked Byleth.

Lysithea looked her in the eyes.

"Isn't it obvious, professor?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Claude’s, or rather Khalid’s dance is loosely based on the Lezgi Dance (lezginka), a fast folk dance from Caucasus. Check it out on Youtube, it looks really awesome! Dance is an important part of the Middle East culture, so I assumed it can be similar with Almyra.
> 
> I asked [Shamanium45](https://twitter.com/shamanium45/status/1271490141584908288) on Twitter to draw Khalid's design from this fic! I love him!  
> [ **LINK**](https://i.imgur.com/xO0cBrI.jpg)


	5. Chapter 5

Regardless of the still early evening, the sun was hiding behind the mountains surrounding Garreg Mach Monastery. It was winter after all — warm and without snow, but the day was still much shorter than the night. 

Byleth watched as the sky changed color from orange to navy blue. She noticed a few stars blinking already above her head. It reminded her of the story about Almyra. It was supposed to only be based on books, but at that moment she was nearly sure it wasn’t.

"There you are, Byleth! " The professor turned her head and saw Claude approaching her with a big, but also tired smile on his face. He looked around. "Oh, are you alone? Great, I can finally be myself for a moment."

He joined her in the area by the treasure vault, where she had been observing the sunset. The mountains, the cathedral, and the cemetery were lazily disappearing into the night's darkness. The sun was already entirely hidden, slowly making the stars the only source of light. No one seemed to be close to the area, as Byleth had seen no silhouettes and had heard no voices. Only the lights in the windows of the knights' quarters let her know that she and Claude weren’t alone in the world. 

The man nonchalantly leaned on the stone wall, staring into the distance. 

"I looked everywhere for you, Teach. Can you imagine me running into Seteth when I was alone? Or, even worse, when I was with Flayn?" He winced at the thought and then smiled. "I didn’t suspect you to leave me to teach her dancing. I thought you wanted her to practice ballroom dance."

Byleth silently thought about the answer. 

"She was too distracted to make a single step in an elegant way," she finally stated. "Besides, it looked like you two were having fun."

Claude looked at her, pleasantly surprised.

"You wanted your students to have fun? Incredible! That hasn’t happened before!" He chuckled. "But it’s true, I was having fun. I’ve never thought teaching someone how to dance could be so enjoyable."

"Especially with this dance, right?" said Byleth, colder than she intended.

Claude noticed the change in her tone. His smile faded, replaced with a careful gaze. 

"What do you mean?" he asked, piercing her with his eyes. 

Byleth slowly turned herself towards him.

"I talked with Lysithea," she said after a few seconds of silence. "She figured out you are Claude." 

The man looked surprised, but not concerned.

"Really? That's too bad. I thought my performance was flawless." He smiled, but he was still carefully observing Byleth. "Did you explain everything to her? If so, Abyss's library is probably occupied now. I hope you warned her about the books in there. My example..."

"I didn't have to," interrupted the professor. "She changed her mind."

Claude seemed to not expect that. His eyes widened and his mouth opened a little in surprise.

"She saw you dancing," said Byleth. After these words, the man visibly tensed. "She noticed something I hadn't thought about before." The professor paused. "It’s impossible to learn about music and dancing from books. Especially this good. It wasn't an improvisation, Claude. You knew exactly what you were doing." She looked into his eyes, searching for his reaction.

Claude just stood up, giving Byleth the same careful gaze. He wasn't smiling anymore, being wary instead. 

"Lysithea said..." Byleth decided to continue. "...there's no reason for the heir of Duke Riegan to know a foreign dance this well. Especially Almyran, since the Leicester Alliance is still in bad relations with this nation." Her eyes locked with his. "I agree with her." She stepped towards the man, keeping the intense gaze. He tensed up like he expected to be attacked at any moment. "Claude von Riegan… who are you really?" she asked, standing in reach of his arms.

Claude’s response to this question was something she didn’t expect. His gaze became softer, but also filled with sadness and… disappointment.

"Does it matter?" he asked calmly, staring into her eyes.

Byleth gulped, feeling her face becoming warm. She was not sure why she was ashamed of having asked that question.

"I just…" she started and hesitated, looking away. After taking a deep breath, she tried again. "I thought I understood what was going on, but it turns out I know nothing." Her eyes moved to his again. "What is a lie and what is the truth? Maybe everything you said was the truth? Maybe Khalid isn’t just a fake identity, but a real person?" She paused. "The only thing I’m sure of is that you are Claude von Riegan. But why is your fake identity Almyran? What are you gaining from that? And why do you know so much about Almyra?" She shook her head. "I don’t know what to believe anymore."

Claude was silently staring at her. He seemed to want to say something but changed his mind right after opening his mouth. After another second he suddenly smiled sadly and, before Byleth could react, bowed deeply.

"I need to apologize, Teach," he said, after straightening up. "Because of my stupid stubbornness, I’m close to losing something that is truly precious to me." He paused. "Your trust."

Byleth was confused by his sudden change of manner. At that moment, he was the one who looked ashamed.

"The truth is…" Claude continued. "...I was in Almyra. For a long enough time to learn the native dance and be a witness of the scene in a desert I told before" 

The professor frowned, feeling silly like she was making a problem out of nothing. 

"Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?" she asked. 

Claude looked away.

"As you know, I’m an heir of the leading house of the Leicester Alliance. I shouldn’t be connected with one of their enemies," he said simply.

Byleth sighed, feeling tension leaving her body. 

"This is probably the first time I've heard you worried about your reputation," she noticed.

"A reputation is part of being a good tactician." Claude winked at her. "That’s why I have to ask you to keep it between us," he added with a more serious tone.

Byleth sent him an emotionless gaze.

"I have no reason to tell anyone. I’ve never had," she said.

"Another proof that my idea to keep it a secret from you was just stupid," admitted the man. "But, to be honest, I also wanted to see your reactions to my performance." He winked at her.

The professor rolled her eyes.

"That’s what I thought. You were scheming and testing me again." 

"And, with a little help from Lysithea, you figured me out." Claude smiled. Then he got lost in thoughts for a moment. "Who would have thought dance would betray me." He chuckled.

"I’m surprised you haven’t," said Byleth. "You couldn't resist showing-off?"

"You can’t blame me, Teach. That was the first time I was allowed to do it since…" The man suddenly silenced himself. "...a long time." He finished after a moment.

"Didn’t seem like," murmured under her breath the professor. She realized she made a mistake saying that aloud right after closing her mouth.

As expected, Claude hummed interestedly.

"I’m flattered, Teach. Does it mean you enjoyed my dance?" He winked at her.

Byleth recalled the moment of seeing him dancing. His sharp moves make him look like a bird of prey. A fire in his eyes, exposing his determination to perform every step perfectly. The sweat running down his body, sticking his shirt to his muscular chest. 

Yeah, that was definitely a show she would not forget soon.

"A little," she finally admitted, feeling her face burning again. 

She didn’t like how closely Claude was observing her. He seemed to be amused.

"Luckily for you, there'll be a ball soon. You’ll be able to watch me dancing again, even if it will be just a goofy noble dance." He paused, thinking about something for a moment. "Hey, Teach… this might be out of nowhere, but will you promise me at least one dance at the ball?" Byleth looked at him, frowning, so he added: "I know I'll probably be back to normal then and you would prefer me to stay like this…" He winked at her. "...but it will be an honor," he finished, reaching for her hand and raising it. The short hairs of his beard tickled her skin as his lips brushed the top of her palm.

The way he kissed her hand — carefully and gently like he was afraid to startle her — made her blood run quicker in her veins. Byleth was stunned from the unexpected feeling. 

After a moment she cleared her throat, trying to come back to her senses. 

"I wasn’t going to dance," she finally answered. "But I can make an exception for you."

Claude’s face lit up with a smile. He looked surprisingly happy about such a small promise.

"Thank you, my lady! I promise to not step on your toes." He winked at her.

Byleth sighed.

"One more thing. Stop treating your normal appearance as something worse than current. I would prefer you to come back to it as soon as possible." 

"Is that so?" Claude chuckled. After that, he got lost in thoughts. "I actually have an idea of what might break the curse," he said after a moment.

The professor frowned.

"Constance said…" she started, but the man cut in. 

"I'm pretty sure nothing will happen in the worst case," he said, looking her into eyes. 

But after staring at her for a second, something abashed him. His cheeks became red and he rapidly turned his head from her, trying to hide his embarrassed expression. 

Byleth frowned, not sure what just happened. That behavior didn’t suit Claude’s usual confidence.

"Actually… nevermind…" he murmured. "This might not be the best idea."

"Why? You seemed to be sure it could work," asked the surprised professor. "If it will help you, maybe it’s worth considering."

The man still seemed to be unsure. He moved his eyes to her, looking like he was having an internal conflict. Finally, he sighed.

"Say, Teach… have you ever heard a story about a prince disenchanted by a kiss?" he asked with a weak smile. His face didn’t lose its vivid color.

Byleth’s eyebrows raised as she reminded herself of the fairytale about a beautiful royal heir turned into an ugly creature. She wondered why Claude mentioned it.

"Yes, but…" 

"Can I kiss you?"

Words got stuck in Byleth’s throat after hearing his sudden question. She gazed at him, seeking another attempt of a tease. But no. His lips were smiling, but his eyes were sincere. He wasn’t joking this time.

"What makes you believe it will work?" she asked, starting to feel warmth in her cheeks.

"Considering the curse was a joke, there is a possibility the solution from the fairytale will break it," explained Claude, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

Byleth nodded. He was right, it might have been worth trying.

Although she was uncomfortable with the idea. Kisses were something she saw only performed by other people, usually just before her father told her to look away. Apparently, it was a way to show affection to another person. She shouldn’t do things like that with one of her students, but it could be considered a tool to help him. 

Byleth raised her head to look at the man in front of her. He was handsome — she noticed once again, paying attention to his slender face, long dark eyelashes, and shaped lips. His intimidating appearance made her feel as if she was around a stranger, but looking into his emerald, serious eyes reminded her that it was just Claude. Her Claude. The boy, who helped her get to know life in the monastery. Who was the very first to treat her friendly. Who was trying everything to make her laugh. If he was the one, who she needed to kiss… she didn’t really mind. The realization of that embarrassed her.

"Fine," she finally said, trying to hide her nervousness. "Just do it quickly."

Claude’s eyes widened. He didn’t seem to expect her to agree. Turned out, his face was able to become even redder.

"Are you sure, Teach? What about…"

"If you don’t hurry, I might change my mind," she interrupted him.

The man gulped and stepped closer to her, placing his hands on her shoulders. She felt his breath at her face. 

Byleth barely closed her eyes before Claude’s lips were against hers. She tensed up, feeling an unfamiliar, but also a pleasant touch. His movement was a little uncertain, obviously inexperienced, but it still gave her shivers down her spine. She enjoyed it more than she had expected.

Before she could react, Claude pulled back. 

They both were staring at each other with widened eyes, frozen like they were waiting for something to happen or someone to say something. But there was only silence.

Claude finally chuckled.

"I guess it didn’t work. But I regret nothing," he said, having his voice deep but also a little shaky. 

Byleth moistened her lips, feeling them empty. She didn’t know what was going on with her, but all she could think about was an excuse to taste Claude’s touch again. The previous kiss was too sudden. Too short. She was craving more.

"Isn’t it…" she started, noticing how hoarse her throat was. She cleared it before continuing. "...because the prince should be kissed by a maiden, not otherwise?" she surprised herself with her boldness. 

Claude’s eyes widened. This time it was him who didn't know what to answer. He hesitated, but after that leaned a little forward, making himself in her reach. 

"Only if the maiden wants it," he whispered with an unknown fire in his eyes. 

Byleth gulped. Her hand reached for him, placing itself gently against the side of his face. It was burning, she noticed. She wondered if her own was as hot as his. 

She leaned in for a kiss, not sure what to expect. Her lips shyly brushed his, and the pleasant feeling of being close to him came back. She missed it, she realized. She missed it, even though the previous one just happened. 

The fingers of one of her hands dived into his long dark hair, making him lean even further towards her. Her other hand was placed on his chest, causing her to feel the strong beating of his heart under her fingertips. 

Claude gasped lightly, breaking the kiss. She was able to examine his eyes — blurry and full of desire. Just seeing him looking at her like that made her forget about the whole world. 

They should stop — said her rational side. Before it will be too late to pretend it didn’t happen.

Thankfully her rational side’s name wasn’t Claude von Riegan. 

Byleth felt his muscular arms wrap around her tightly. He kissed her deeply, making her melt in his touch.

Their lips danced with each other, sending waves of warmth through their bodies. Time seemed to stop for them. It didn’t matter who they were and why they were doing it. Only the pleasant feeling they were giving to each other was important. 

That was until Byleth heard a loud cough in her head, which most likely belonged to Sothis. Reality came back to her as she broke the kiss, stepping away from Claude. 

They stared at each other, panting quickly. Byleth did her best to not look at his lips, which her own were still craving. Sothis in her head was yelling something about disgusting humans, but she ignored her, only focused on the man in front of her. He kept his distance, for which she was grateful. She wasn’t sure how she would react if he touched her again.

 _"What now?"_ she thought, trying to not panic. _"It wasn't supposed to be like this!"_

 _"Oh,_ now _you are worried!"_ snorted Sothis. 

Thankfully for her, Claude said something first. 

"...That didn’t work either. I guess the prince should be enchanted into something nasty. It was quite otherwise in my case." He chuckled, but his nervousness was audible in that laugh. 

Claude seemed to want to treat what happened between them as a failed test. Byleth wasn't sure she should play along with him.

 _"Of course you should!"_ huffed Sothis. _"Unless you want to completely ruin your rule: ‘don’t have close interactions with students.’ What happened to that?"_

_"I follow this rule."_

_"You mean you followed it until your charming and good looking student became even more attractive."_

_"It’s not like that!"_

_"Try lying to him, not to me."_

Byleth realized that from Claude's perspective she was uncomfortably quiet. She cleared her throat.

"That’s unfortunate. I hoped this would work, so we would have this curse behind us," she said aloud, keeping her face emotionless.

The man visibly relaxed. It seemed she put his mind at ease by not discussing their relationship. At least not at that moment. 

"Apparently you’ll have to stick with me looking like this." He winked.

Byleth’s eyes widened when she realized the meaning of his words. He was going to be next to her for another few days — looking that handsome, smiling his perfect smile, and making her remember what happened between them. 

Could she manage to keep her emotionless face during this time? 

And will she even stop thinking about that when he returns to his normal appearance?

The man in front of her seemed to think about it too. He was still smiling, but he was looking at her carefully. 

"Say, Teach…" he started, but the noise of someone’s steps interrupted him.

"Professor! I have something to ask of you. Flayn…" Seteth was approaching them, only noticing who she was with when getting closer. He looked surprised, examining Claude’s appearance. His gaze stopped for a longer time at the partly bare chest of the other man. "My apologies. I haven’t realized you had a companion," he said. 

Byleth, even considering the potential problems, was grateful to see him. 

"Seteth, this is my father’s old comrade, Khalid." Introducing Claude as her own friend could be too controversial for the overly moral man. Especially since he’d found them alone in the darkness, standing very close to each other.

Sothis snorted.

 _"Wouldn’t he_ be right _assuming things?"_ she noticed. 

Byleth ignored her.

"I see." Seteth was observing Claude like he wanted to memorize him. "Unfortunately, if I’m unmistaken, Jeralt is absent presently." 

"That’s why miss Byleth is doing me a favor by accompanying me until her father returns." Claude smiled widely, showing confidence in his voice. 

The green-haired man looked into his eyes, searching for something. Finally, he bowed in front of Byleth.

"Under these circumstances, I apologize for bothering while you’re taking care of a guest, professor. We may talk tomorrow." 

"No, it’s fine. Khalid is going to his quarters anyway," lied Byleth, hoping Claude wouldn’t do anything which would betray her. She approached Seteth. "We can talk now. Did you mention something about Flayn?" 

Sothis laughed loudly in her head.

 _"Really? You run away by going with the man you would usually avoid? People are really hilarious creatures!"_ she exclaimed.

Seteth scratched his chin.

"Oh, yes. She keeps talking about today’s dance practice…"

"Maybe we should move this conversation to your office." Byleth turned to Claude, who was standing still in the place she left him, looking stunned. "Goodnight, _Khalid_. In case you wouldn’t have any other plans, you’re welcome in my classes tomorrow." She bowed her head goodbye and walked away with Seteth.

 _"What an elegant way to escape,"_ noticed Sothis and giggled.

Byleth hasn’t answered, feeling her cheeks burning from embarrassment. She knew how unfairly she was treating Claude, but it was better this way. If they hadn't split up soon, who knew what would happen that night. 

Her fingers discreetly touched her lips. 

She didn't even trust herself.

***

_"You look awful. Have you slept for at least one minute tonight?_ " asked Sothis, more disgusted than worried. 

_"A little longer, but not too much,"_ admitted Byleth, while throwing her coat at her shoulders. 

The last two days were difficult for her. She hoped that at least her abilities to teach were unaffected. 

She stood in front of the doors, not ready to open them. Claude was probably behind them, ready to tease her about escaping with Seteth or to talk about what happened between them. It was hard to choose which was worse.

Finally, her hand reached for the doorknob and she marched outside, trying to look confident. As predicted, she nearly bumped into someone standing in front of her room. But it wasn’t Claude. It was Ignatz.

"Good morning, professor! You startled me!" The student smiled a little nervously.

"Good morning, Ignatz. Can I help you?" Byleth’s eyes stopped at a medium-size canvas in Ignatz’s hands. Its content was hidden from her.

"I was going to ask you where I can find your guest, professor. His speech about Almyra inspired me to paint this little piece overnight." The young artist a little awkwardly scratched the back of his head. Byleth noticed dark circles under his eyes.

 _"Seems like you weren’t the only one with no sleep because of that boy,"_ noticed Sothis, amused.

"I want him to check if my imagination was correct. And maybe I’ll give him this painting if he’ll like it." Ignatz blushed a little. "But he wasn’t in his room when I got there," he added.

Byleth frowned. If Claude wasn’t in his rented room and around hers, then where…

"Claude!" She suddenly heard a raised voice of Hilda. "Where were you?! You don't even know what you missed!"

The professor’s eyes widened. She turned her head towards the other dormitories. In front of them, on a stone path, there were two students walking in her direction. One of them was Hilda, unexpectedly awake at an early hour like this. But Byleth’s attention was taken by the person next to the pink-haired girl.

"Jeez, Hilda… I’ve barely come back and you're already interviewing me…" said the voice she knew very well.

Claude was walking next to Hilda, young as in the day Byleth had met him. His face was soft without the beard or any other facial hair. His hairstyle was short with only his characteristic braid on the side of his head. The only change from his usual appearance was his clothes: instead of academic uniform, he'd put on the evening one. 

"My grandfather thought he was dying but turned out it was just constipation. He got better after drinking the potion I tested on Lorenz the other day." Claude smiled nonchalantly.

Hilda winced.

"Eww… you don't have to tell me such details! I'm a delicate flower!" 

The house leader shrugged.

"A delicate flower slaughtered five people with her axe during the last mission. Anyway, have you mentioned something happened when I was absent?" he asked, interested. 

"Oh, right." Hilda looked towards Byleth. "Professor!" She waved her hand.

Claude’s head raised. His and Byleth’s eyes met. His lips bowed in a smile, which seemed to be encouraging or calming. Maybe both.

He and Hilda approached the professor’s room. 

"Hello, Teach! Hi, Ignatz," greeted casually the house leader. 

"Claude," said Byleth. "You’re back."

 _"...to normal,"_ she added in her thoughts.

"Yes, sorry for all the trouble." Claude smiled wider, keeping eye contact with her.

"Professor, have you seen Khalid lately? I wanted to introduce him to Claude." Hilda seemed to be excited. 

"Oh, I’m looking for him too," said Ignatz.

"Khalid?" Claude raised his eyebrows, staring at his classmates. "Who are you talking about?" he asked in such a convincing tone Byleth would believe him if she didn’t know the truth. 

"The professor’s friend from Almyra. You mentioned you are interested in Almyra, right? I’m sure you two have a lot to talk about." Hilda’s suggestive voice wasn’t something Byleth liked. 

"Is that so?" Claude moved his gaze to the professor. "I didn’t know you had such international friends, Teach. I would love to talk to them." He smiled at her.

Byleth squinted her eyes, looking at him angrily. 

Claude’s interest in the topic didn’t help her to get out of the situation. It was even making it worse. Ignatz and Hilda were staring at her expecting an answer, and the cause of this whole mess was just smiling teasingly from behind their backs. She was alone, to his apparent delight. 

"I’m afraid it’s not possible," Byleth said, finally. 

"Huh?" Hilda’s eyes widened. "Why?"

The professor gulped, not sure what to say. She wasn’t good at lying, especially unprepared. Or at least not as good as Claude.

 _"Just use what you learned from the kid,"_ said Sothis in her head.

_"What I learned?"_

Byleth thought about it for a second. 

_"Confidence… saying things people subconsciously expect... small details, that seemed to not matter, but make the whole story more realistic…"_

An idea came to her mind.

"Yes, he left in the middle of the night." She paused. "Apparently, his father is on his deathbed. He started feeling worse, so Khalid rushed to him."

"Oh no!" gasped Ignatz. "Poor Khalid." He moved his eyes to the painting in his hands.

"That’s so sad!" groaned Hilda. "Did you even say goodbye properly before he left?" 

Byleth looked at Claude, who was observing her carefully.

"No…" she answered. "Not really."

The pink-haired student seemed unhappy about it, but then she smiled kindly. 

"Don’t worry, professor! I’m sure you’ll see him again! Why don't you go on a trip to Almyra? Of course, only when you have a break in teaching."

"I guess it would need better international relations or your brother to let her pass the border." Claude shrugged. Then he added: "It’s too bad I haven’t met this Khalid. You guys seem to like him."

Byleth had a suspicion of why he said that. Sothis giggled in her head.

Hilda sighed.

"Yeah, he was a funny guy. Quite handsome. You should have heard how he talked with Lorenz about his noble bullshit." She chuckled. "Aaaand the professor seemed to like him," she added in a teasing tone.

"Oh? Is that so, Teach?" Claude looked at Byleth, smirking. She only rolled her eyes in response.

 _"You didn’t need Hilda to be aware of that,"_ she thought, which made Sothis laugh even louder. 

"I painted a landscape of Almyra based on his story," said Ignatz, saddened. "I really hoped he would give me some feedback." 

Claude, after hearing that, moved towards his classmate and looked at the canvas. 

"Desert? I've only seen them in illustrations before, but it looks realistic! The colors and the perspective make it feel like you are there!" He patted Ignatz’s shoulder. "Great job! You should be proud of yourself! It’s a shame Khalid couldn’t see it." 

"Thank you, Claude." The blond-haired boy seemed to feel a little better. "I painted it thinking about showing the result to him. I don’t really want to keep it to myself."

"Why don’t you just give it to the professor?" suggested Hilda. "Khalid mentioned he wanted her to take it." 

Everyone’s eyes moved to Byleth.

"That’s right! Please accept it, professor!" Ignatz offered her the canvas. "I’m sure Khalid would love you to have it!" 

Caught a little off guard, the professor took the painting and looked at it.

It was a beautiful landscape of yellow and brown areas of sand and rocks. They reached to the horizon, which was filled with the bright light of sunset. The sky was changing its color from orange and red towards deep blue and black. The darker was the color, the more small white dots representing the stars were placed on it. The painting was definitely something Ignatz should be proud of. 

"I’ll keep it," Byleth said finally. "Beautiful piece, Ignatz."

"Thank you, professor." The blond-haired student smiled.

"I’m sorry you weren’t able to say goodbye to Khalid," added the professor, looking at him and Hilda. "But please don’t be distracted by his short visit. I’ll see you in the classroom." She looked at the house leader. "Claude, can you come to my room for a second? I want to discuss the lessons you’ve missed."

"Sure thing, Teach."

***

After Ignatz and Hilda left, Byleth and Claude entered the room. The professor put the received painting on her desk while the student sat on her bed, behaving like he'd already gotten used to being there.

"Good job lying about why Khalid left," he said with a smirk. "It matched my stories about him inheriting his father's business."

Byleth crossed her arms over her chest.

"I would rather not learn how to lie. It’s all because of you and this situation with the curse." She sighed and looked a little softer at him. "But it seems it’s over now. How did it happen?"

Claude smiled wider.

"After you left me _for Seteth_..." he accented the last words, making Byleth roll her eyes. She knew he would tease her about it. "...wandering around the monastery alone would be too suspicious, so I just went to my guest room. I woke up in the middle of the night at the sound of an explosion and a cloud of pungent smoke. It was just like when I changed into the older self, but this time I was back to normal." He shrugged. "Sneaking into my room for clothes was a challenge, but I succeeded."

"I see..." Byleth scratched her chin. "...so the curse lasted for much shorter than Constance predicted."

"Or... our little disenchantment last night actually helped," Claude said in a teasing tone, but his cheeks became a little pink. 

Byleth felt warmth on her face again. 

Her sleepless night has resulted in something. She decided to keep treating their kisses as only a tool to break the curse. It was the best option not to cross the line between teacher and student. However, she hadn’t known if she would manage to pretend in front of Claude that nothing happened between them. Fortunately, it looked like she'd been able to since he returned to his normal appearance. At least until he mentioned it.

"Maybe so." Byleth looked away. Her eyes stopped at Ignatz’s landscape. "Do you want to take this painting?" 

Claude sent her a confused gaze.

"And then what? Burn it? Hide it until I graduate from the Academy? Because Claude von Riegan is the last person who should have it." He chuckled. "He hadn’t even heard about Almyran desert."

Byleth bit her lip, feeling silly. Her attempt to change the topic wasn’t brilliant. 

"Besides…" Claude added with a warm tone. "I really want you to have it."

"Why?" The professor frowned, turning towards him.

The student shrugged.

"I don’t know. Perhaps to give you a souvenir of my silly curse. Or to encourage you to actually see the Almyra with your own eyes one day." He smiled. "Anyway, there is no point in me having it. It would be better in your hands."

Byleth got lost in thought while staring at the painting. 

Seeing other lands with her own eyes? That didn’t sound so bad. But until her father decides to leave the Knights of Seiros, she was stuck in the monastery. That made her a little upset. 

"Hey, Teach…" Claude said suddenly, getting her attention. "Are you going to miss Khalid?" His lips were still smiling, but his eyes were staring at her carefully, searching for her reaction.

Byleth looked back, trying to figure out why he asked that question. 

"You sound like Flayn," she pointed out. "Khalid isn't dead. He is still you and you will look similar to him at some point." She thought about it for a moment and added quieter: "But I most likely won’t be the to see it, since the graduation is in three moons." 

"So, the answer is ‘yes’?" asked Claude in a teasing tone.

"The answer is ‘it doesn’t matter’," answered Byleth coldly.

Claude stood up and approached her dangerously close. The events from the previous evening flashed in front of her eyes. Her cheeks became warm when he leaned towards her, keeping eye contact. 

"I don’t quite believe that. Even Hilda noticed you liked him," he said in a deeper voice, resembling the one of his older self. "So, what if our story doesn’t end in three moons?" His lips bowed in a slight smile.

"What do you mean?" asked Byleth, not sure if she should look away.

Claude went silent for a moment like he wasn’t sure how to explain his words.

"Thia might sound weird all of a sudden..." he finally whispered. "...but I believe our fates are conne…" 

The loud bell of the monastery interrupted him, announcing the start of the lessons of the Academy. Byleth used it as an excuse to step back from Claude, breaking eye contact with him.

"We should hurry to the classroom," she said, trying to keep her face emotionless, despite feeling it burning. "You can tell me what you wanted on the way."

Claude sighed. 

"I guess it’s not a good time," he shrugged. "But don’t think you’ll avoid this conversation, Teach," he added, winking at her.

Byleth smiled a little. 

"I’m not sure if I should be content or afraid," she said, as she took a large pile of papers from her desk. 

"That depends… hey, let me help you." The student approached her and took the papers, looking at their contents. His eyes widened in disbelief. "Are these tests?" he asked incredulously.

Byleth’s smile widened, seeing his reaction.

"You came back to normal at the perfect moment," she said. "You can fairly write it with others." 

Claude groaned.

"Seriously? Oh, come on!" He got lost in thought and then smiled teasingly. "Do you think Constance still has that cursed book? I would peek inside just for a moment..." 

Byleth rolled her eyes but chuckled right after that.


	6. Epilogue

_**7 years later** _  


The noise of fast steps filled the corridors of the palace in Derdriu. Servants looked to the source of the sound, surprised, not used to seeing one of Fódlan’s leaders in a hurry. But Claude was too excited to care about them. He wanted to deliver the news as soon as possible. 

He opened the doors to the private quarters. As expected, Byleth was sitting by the large wooden desk, leaning above a pile of papers. Her mint hair was sparkling in the light coming through the window behind her. She was wearing a comfortable silk dress — white with golden ornaments — and her face was covered with delicate makeup. 

_"She is stunning,"_ realized Claude once again. _"What have I done to deserve such a beautiful wife?"_

Byleth’s light-green eyes raised, looking at him with a mix of annoyance and amusement.

"I should have guessed it was you who made such a fuss outside," she said. "Shall you tell me why?"

Claude approached her and hummed, displeased.

"As always, you go straight to business, my love. Where's my hello kiss?" he asked, leaning towards her.

The woman rolled her eyes.

"We saw each other an hour ago," she noticed, smirking. 

"And I've already missed you. Can you imagine?" Claude winked at her.

Byleth shook her head in disbelief, but she gave him a quick peck on the lips. 

"You've been so cheesy since coming back from Almyra," she complained, still smiling. 

"Speaking of Almyra…" Claude took out a roll of paper, presenting it to his wife. "...the letter from my parents just arrived." 

Byleth frowned, interested.

"Is that why you were so excited? What is written there?"

The man smiled widely. 

"That the preparations for our Almyran wedding are nearly done. They are ready for us to arrive at any moment." 

Byleth kept her usual static expression, but her eyes blinked in excitement. She turned her head to the side, looking at something hanging on a wall. 

"Almyra, huh?" she whispered. "I’ll finally be able to see it with my own eyes." 

Claude hugged her from behind, staring at the same painting. Ignatz's vision of the Almyran desert wasn’t a perfect piece. At that moment the artist could probably paint it ten times better thanks to years of practice, but that didn’t matter. Its sentimental value was enormous. It was a reminder of their last careless moments in the Academy. Of that silly curse which made them closer. Of their first kisses, which were the beginning of their constant longing for each other. Claude was glad that he'd saved the painting from a war-ravaged monastery. He knew Byleth would be upset if it was destroyed or lost. 

"I promise I'll show you this and other beautiful views of Almyra." He said softly and placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head. 

Byleth giggled.

"Do you think they will let their king wander around the country?"

Claude hummed in her ear.

"If not, we will sneak out in the middle of the night," he suggested. 

"That would suit us." Byleth turned her head to look at him with a big smile on her face. 

The man once again admired her beauty. If it wasn't for the servants, she would wear her old mercenary outfit and her face would be untouched by the makeup. She'd still be beautiful looking like that, but he had to admit these gentle feminine features made her even more charming. 

"Should I be aware of something before we go there?" she asked. 

Claude thought about it for a moment, then an idea came to his mind. He barely restrained himself from giggling, after imagining her reaction to it. 

"There is one thing," he said, trying to keep a simple smile on his face. "You should know I have a different name in Almyra."

Byleth frowned, but she nodded right after.

"That’s understandable. I assume it would be unsetting if you would have a Fódlanese name there." She looked him in the eye, interested. "So, what is your name back in Almyra?"

Claude grinned.

"Can you guess?" he asked in a teasing tone. 

Byleth blinked in surprise, not sure what he meant. She silenced herself for a moment, thinking.

Suddenly her eyes widened in realization. Claude, seeing that, laughed aloud.

"No!" she said, standing up. She looked like she wanted to tear him to ribbons. 

"No?" repeated the amused man, raising his hands in a defensive gesture. He couldn't remember seeing her so furious. 

Byleth dug her pointing finger in his chest, staring into his eyes. 

"Tell me you didn’t use your real name during that stupid situation with the curse!" When Claude answered her with a smirk, she shook her head in disbelief. "Were you out of your mind?! That was the name of one of the Almyra’s princes! What if someone would recognize you?!"

"Well, that was a risk I was ready to take." The man shrugged. "I didn't want to miss the chance to hear you using my other name," he added, winking at her.

Byleth rolled her eyes and moved her finger from him. 

"I’ve married an idiot," she said with resignation. 

Claude laughed again. 

"What’s more, you will marry him again," he noticed.

Byleth snorted and turned away from him.

"Maybe I should rethink it," she murmured.

The man gasped theatrically. 

"You wound me, Teach!" He wrapped her in his arms from behind. After a peck to her cheek, she made a sound of annoyance. "There, there… don’t be mad. As you said, I was young and stupid."

"First, it turned out you really are half-Almyran, then that you really are a son of the Almyran king and Leicester’s noble and now this…" Byleth still seemed to be upset. "What next? Maybe you really were a mercenary?"

"No, that was your idea." Claude chuckled. "But I've hunted once or twice for the reward if that counts." 

Byleth snorted again. After a while, she put her hands on his, showing forgiveness. Claude couldn’t believe how cute his wife behaved when she was angry. The urge to tease her some more was strong, but he gave it up. 

Instead, he got lost in thought for a moment.

"Yeah, that situation was risky. Especially when you and Lysithea figured me out." 

The memory of Lysithea's outrage, when there was no longer any reason to hide who Khalid was, made him smile wider.

"I knew it! I can’t believe you tricked me with some stupid dancing!" The white-haired mage shook her head in disbelief.

Lorenz’s reaction was also hilarious.

"You were that clown who insulted me in public?!" he exclaimed, staring at Claude with confusion. 

Hilda was the only one who was more happy than shocked.

"Oh. My. Goddess! That makes so much sense right now!" She smiled suggestively at Byleth. "For example, why you two were so lovey-dovey after Claude came back."

The movement of his wife brought Claude’s mind back to the present time. Byleth turned around, revealing a little grumpy face.

"You were playing with fire back then," she said. "The disclosure of your true identity could've been worse in consequences than the exposure of Abyss's existence." 

"I know, I know…" Claude rolled his eyes but then smiled. "But guess what?" His hands embraced her at her waist. "I don't regret it at all," he hummed, staring into her eyes.

Byleth kept the gaze, but she blushed a little. 

"How so?" she asked.

The man rested his forehead against hers.

"Wasn't that the time when you fell madly in love with me?" He chuckled after saying that, but he was curious about her answer.

To his surprise, Byleth didn't respond immediately. She was silently staring at him, thinking of something. 

Finally, her lips bowed in a slight smile.

"What made you think I fell in love with you at exactly that time?" she asked. "Who knows, maybe it was earlier."

Claude’s eyes widened and his face became hot when he realized the meaning of her words. Before he reacted somehow, Byleth had tapped his nose with her finger.

"Gotcha!" She stepped back, looking at him with satisfaction. 

"Wait... what?" The man stared at her with confusion. "Was that a joke?" 

"Maybe yes, maybe no." His wife giggled. "I'll tell you that someday, but now we have to get ready for the journey." After saying that, she started walking towards the doors of the room.

"No way! You know damn well I hate when I don't understand things!" Claude moved after her, being displeased. "Teeeach!"

Byleth laughed loudly, turning towards him. Claude sighed and took her small hand into his. 

Seeing her smile, he chose not to force her to answer at that moment. One day he'd eventually know the truth. 

After all, they had a whole eternity together in front of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading my fic! It's the first one I published on AO3 and in English, so I'm extra happy for all the positive feedback I got from you!
> 
> Sincere thanks to [@evil_bunny_king](https://archiveofourown.org/users/evil_bunny_king/pseuds/evil_bunny_king) and my boyfriend for being my betas and helping me figure out things! And of course, thanks a lot to Teru for inspiring me to write this fic! I love you all!
> 
> If you like unusual stories like this one (especially about Claudeleth) subscribe to my account. I guarantee that my brain can't come up with something normal, oh no.


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